Topic summary
Coprophilous fungi
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Coprophilous fungus.
Life cycle
Coprophilous fungi release their spores to the surrounding vegetation, which is then eaten by herbivores. The spores then remain in the animal as the plants are digested, pass through the animal's intestines and are finally defecated. The fruiting bodies of the fungi then grow from the animal feces. It is essential that the spores of the species then reach new plant material; spores remaining in the feces will produce nothing. As such, some species have developed means of discharging spores a large distance. An example of this is the genus Pilobolus. Fruiting bodies of Pilobolus will suddenly rupture, sending the contents over 2 metres away.