''Stemonitis'' is a distinctive
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
slime moulds found throughout the world (except
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
). They are characterised by the tall brown
sporangia
A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...
, supported on slender stalks, which grow in clusters on rotting
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
. The genus was first described by German botanist
Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch in 1753. A 2014 estimate suggests that there are 18 species in the genus.
Identification within the genus is difficult, and can only be performed with confidence using a
microscope
A microscope () is a laboratory equipment, laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic ...
or by
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ...
. A fossil specimen (in
Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...
) is known from the mid-
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
(99 ma).
Species
The following species are accepted by ''Species Fungorum'':
*''
Stemonitis axifera''
(Bull.) T.Macbr. (1889)
*''Stemonitis farrensis''
T. N. Lakh. & Mukerji (1977)
*''Stemonitis ferruginea''
Ehrenb. (1818)
*''Stemonitis flavogenita''
E. Jahn (1904)
*''Stemonitis foliicola''
Ing (1967)
*''
Stemonitis fusca
''Stemonitis fusca'' is a species of slime mold. It fruits in clusters on dead wood and has distinctive tall brown sporangium, sporangia supported on slender stalks with a total height of approximately 6–20 mm tall.
Subspecies
''Stemoniti ...
''
Roth (1787)
*''Stemonitis graciliformis''
Nann.-Bremek., Mukerji & Pasricha (1984)
*''Stemonitis herbatica''
Peck (1874)
*''Stemonitis inconspicua''
Nann.-Bremek. (1966)
*''Stemonitis laxifila''
Nann.-Bremek. & Y. Yamam. (1988)
*''Stemonitis lignicola''
Nann.-Bremek. (1973)
*''Stemonitis marjana''
Y. Yamam. (2000)
*''Stemonitis mediterraneensis''
H.H. Doğan & Eroğlu (2014)
*''Stemonitis mussooriensis''
G. W. Martin, K. S. Thind & Sohi (1957)
*''Stemonitis nigrescens''
Rex (1891)
*''Stemonitis pallida''
Wingate (1899)
*''Stemonitis rhizoideipes''
Nann.-Bremek., R. Sharma & K. S. Thind (1984)
*''Stemonitis smithii''
T.Macbr. (1893)
*''
Stemonitis splendens''
Rostaf. (1875)
*''Stemonitis virginiensis''
Rex (1891)
References
External links
*
Myxogastria
Myxogastria genera
{{Amoebozoa-stub