Saccobolus depauperatus

[Waxcap]

Hi

I believe this tiny fungus is Saccobolus depauperatus. Gregarious on a sample of incubated equine dung, 0.2 - 0.3 mm in diameter. Image at 20:1 on the sensor of the camera.

Saccobolus depauperatus

Saccobolus depauperatus

[Chris Yeates]

If you've checked the spore cluster measurements I'm sure you'll be correct. Top quality images . . .
Chris

[Waxcap]

Thanks Chris.

The most mature spores were around 12x6, I was using the Key below. The clusters were under three times the spore length so around 31 -33 microns.

Dave

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... onCoverPdf

[Chris Yeates]

I was going to say "get those images on ASCOfrance "- but . . . . .

[Waxcap]

I just put this photo on the AscoFrance page too. I'm not sure but I think they may be attached to the remains of a hair in this instance. The surface looks like hair and the diameter is in the normal range for horse-hair.

Saccobolus depauperatus

Saccobolus depauperatus

There is an abstract of a paper here which is quite helpful if you are looking at fungi on horse dung (and who doesn't?) because it lists the common ones in order of frequency found in their research.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7242651


Dave

[Chris Yeates]

Hi Dave
looking at those cells towards the bottom right, they look a bit moss-like - could it be the seta of a moss? The surface doesn't look quite right for a hair. Just a thought.

Chris

[Waxcap]

Thanks for that Chris.

I often see hair in dung samples using transmitted light on the compound scope so assumed, because of the parallel sides (admittedly over only about 1mm in the uncropped image) that I could have been seeing the partly digested surface of a hair. I do have to admit that I have no idea what partly digested surface of horse hair actually looks like.

It does look different to the usual straw particles I see it on so It may well be undigested moss. I suppose it's rather unlikely that it would fruit on vegetable matter and hair.

Dave