#hat thrower

[wild-e-eep]

I think this is Pilobolus kleinii, one of the dung cannon fungi AKA hat throwers.

This fungus grows on dung. Its strategy for colonising new piles of dung is to have its spores be eaten by a herbivore, pass through the animal's gut and end up in a freshly deposited stool.

To this end, these sticky black sporangia are propelled clear of the dung pile by the explosive force of the turgid swelling beneath them bursting. Each has a chance of landing on some palatable grass away from the faeces, where they can be ingested.

iNaturalist observation 372222208

[mycoblogg]

FOTD #075 : hat thrower! (pilobolus crystallinus)

hat thrower mould (or dung cannon mould) is a type of bonnet mould in the family of pilobolaceae. sprouting from cattle dung, this fungus grows in six stages, which you can read about here. (link)

the big question : can i bite it?? likely not - but there have been no reports so far.

p. crystallinus description :

"this fungus is small, clear & crystal-like. their heads are teardrop-shaped, with a round black tip. they are covered in droplets."

[images : source & source] [fungus description : observation-based]

"fun fact : the reason its names are based on projectile attributes is because of its ability to 'spit' it's little black part off !!"

[rlossehelin]

Earth has many organisms that are incredibly quick. In the sky, the peregrine falcon speeds past every other bird by reaching a maximum airspeed of 389 km/h (242 mph). The cheetah dominates on the land and can run up to 120 km/h (75 mph) and the sailfish can escape predators in the sea by traveling 109 km/h (68 mph). As impressive as these are, they are still no match for Pilobolus crystallinus; otherwise known as the Hat Thrower or Dung Cannon fungus.... Because the spores are so small, they require a lot of force to cut through the air and get to a place where they will be eaten by animals. Grazing animals don’t like to eat where they poop (and who does, really?) so they need to travel pretty far. In order to travel 2 m (6 ft) to a clear area, they accelerate over 70 km/h (45 mph) within the first MILLIMETRE of their flight. - See more at: http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/fastest-accelerating-organism-earth-fungus#sthash.dDMf6miQ.dpuf