''Protostropharia alcis'' is a species of
coprophilous agaric fungus in the family
Strophariaceae. It was originally
described by Finnish mycologist Ilkka Kytövuori in 1999, as one of six species in the "''Stropharia semiglobata''" group in northwestern Europe. The fungus produces
fruit bodies
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
on
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
nown in Europe as European elkdung.
In 2013, the fungus named after
''Alces alces'' was transferred by Redhead et al. to ''
Protostropharia'',
a genus circumscribed to contain ''
Stropharia
The genus ''Stropharia'' (sometimes known by the common name roundheads) is a group of medium to large agarics with a distinct membranous ring on the stipe. Well-known members of this genus include the edible ''Stropharia rugosoannulata'' and th ...
'' species characterized by the formation of astrocystidia rather than
acanthocytes
Acanthocyte (from the Greek word ἄκανθα ''acantha'', meaning 'thorn'), in biology and medicine, refers to an abnormal form of red blood cell that has a spiked cell membrane, due to thorny projections. A similar term is spur cells. Often ...
on their
mycelium
Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrate (biology), substrates. A typical single ...
.
In addition to Europe, the species has also been recorded in Brazil.
The
variety ''austrobrasiliensis'' was described from
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
in 2008, where it grows on cow dung, or dung-enriched soil.
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7252138
Fungi described in 1999
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of Brazil
Strophariaceae