Spongiforma squarepantsii
Spongiforma squarepantsii
Spongiforma squarepantsii is a species of fungus in the family Dickröhrlingsverwandten ( Boletaceae ) within the genus Spongiforma. The occurring in Malaysia species was described scientifically in 2011. The fungus was named after the American cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants ( in English " SpongeBob SquarePants" ).
Features
Macroscopic characteristics
The fruiting bodies of Spongiforma squarepantsii is colored bright orange. It reaches a width of 3-5 cm and a height of 2-3 cm. He is nearly spherical to oval shaped and has no stem. The mushroom is sponge-like and rubbery elastic and takes after the extrusion of water back to its previous shape. The brain- like surface has deep grooves and wrinkles. It is irregularly occupied with relatively large cavities that are lined with the sporenbildendem fruit layer. The fruiting body smells fruity to strong musty. When Drizzle with a 3-10 per cent caustic potash solution, the meat changes color purple.
Microscopic characteristics
The almond-shaped spores are 9.5 to 12.5 microns long, 6-7 microns wide and covered with a 0.5-1.2 micron thick wall. In the hyphae come to the cross- walls, no buckles.
Ecology and distribution
Spongiforma squarepantsii was a soil-inhabiting fungus in Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, found.
Taxonomy and systematics
The species was first described scientifically in May 2011, online in the journal Mycologia. The description is based on individuals who were recognized in 2010, collected in Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Porphyrellus porphyrosporus
Porphyrellus pseudoscaber
Porphyrellus sordidus
Spongiforma
Various Strobilomyces spp.
The closest related species Spongiforma thailandica, which was first described in 2009, with S. squarepantsii forms the genus Spongiforma, differs from this by various features. It has larger fruit bodies with a width of 5-10 cm and a height of 4-7 cm. The initially pale gray-orange Gleba turns later into a dark red or dark brown. The smell is reminiscent of tar. In addition, the spores of S. thailandica possess less prominent than the surface warts squarepantsii of p.
In the description of S. thailandica the ribosomal DNA could be detected by molecular features that the genus Spongiforma is a sister group of the genus Porphyrellus. The most closely related taxon to this is Strobilomyces. All three genera belong to the Dickröhrlingsverwandten ( Boletaceae ).
Designation
The genus name Spongiforma refers to the spongy nature of the fungal fruiting body. The epithet squarepantsii emphasizes the similarity with the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants ( in English " SpongeBob SquarePants" ). In addition, the authors described the surface of the spore-bearing tissue in the scanning electron microscope ( SEM) as a " seafloor covered with tube sponges, reminiscent of the fictitious home of SpongeBob. "