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Project Noah Nature School
Tubifera ferruginosa
A shapeless mass with a texture like styrofoam is the fruiting body made up of closely packed tubes which will eventually produce spores. The mass was about 55 mm long.
Spotted on a damp decaying eucalyptus log.
In the "eating phase" this slime mold is a large cell of clear mucus with many nuclei. It engulfs bacteria and other minute matter by phagocytosis. When the food runs out or when climatic change occurs, the cell becomes white and forms tubular structures which become red, then darken and finally disintegrate dispersing spores. There is no damage to the wood. Class: Myxomycetes Family: Tubiferaceae
Spotted on May 2, 2014
Submitted on Jun 1, 2014
1 Comment
Yes it was, Ernst -disappeared without a trace when I checked a few days later !