{"id":2176,"date":"2026-01-13T12:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T10:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lbscience.org\/en\/2026\/01\/11\/calcareous-mantle-of-a-pteririte\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T16:59:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:59:59","slug":"picture-science-the-calcareous-crust-of-a-slime-mold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lbscience.org\/en\/2026\/01\/13\/picture-science-the-calcareous-crust-of-a-slime-mold\/","title":{"rendered":"Picture Science: The Calcareous Crust of a Slime Mold"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the image: a slime mold called <\/span>Physarum album<\/span><\/i>, whose genus name comes from the greek word for \"bubble\" [1], shown at 10\u00d7 magnification (left) and 50\u00d7 magnification (right). Its actual size is about two millimeters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Slime molds, or myxomycetes [2], are extraordinary organisms: they are neither fungi nor animals, but single-celled amoeboid creatures. These organisms spend much of their lives as a creeping, feeding mass, and later organize into fruiting bodies for spore dispersal. Many slime-mold species (like the one in the image) absorb dissolved calcium from their surroundings and, during the formation of the fruiting body, cause it to precipitate as amorphous calcium carbonate\u2014meaning it lacks an ordered crystalline structure\u2014within an organic network of proteins and polysaccharides. This process creates a calcareous coating, clearly visible in the high-magnification image. The coating primarily envelops the outer wall (the peridium), and in certain species may also appear in other parts of the fruiting body [3]. This mineral-biological layer stiffens the otherwise soft structure, protects the spores from damage and from drying, stabilizes the tiny fruiting body, and allows it to sway gently in the air\u2014thereby aiding efficient spore dispersal [4].<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo: Tal Shaul<\/span><\/p>\n

Hebrew editing: Smadar Raban
\nEnglish editing: Elee Shimshoni<\/p>\n

\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Physarum album<\/em> on iNaturalist for crowsourcing nature observations<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Myxomycetes on Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Zhang, Jz., Liu, Ln., Fiore-Donno, A.M. et\u00a0al. <\/span>Ultrastructural characters of a Physarum melleum on living leaves of Dendrobium candidum in China<\/span><\/i>. J. Zhejiang Univ. \u2013 Sci. B 8, 896\u2013899 (2007).<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Garvie, L.A.J., N\u00e9meth, P. & Trif, L. <\/span>An exceptionally stable and widespread hydrated amorphous calcium carbonate precipitated by the dog vomit slime mold Fuligo septica (Myxogastria).<\/span><\/i> Sci Rep 12, 3642 (2022).<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the image: a slime mold called Physarum album, whose genus name comes from the greek word for \"bubble\" [1], shown at 10\u00d7 magnification (left) and 50\u00d7 magnification (right). Its actual size is about two millimeters. Slime molds, or myxomycetes [2], are extraordinary organisms: they are neither fungi nor animals, but single-celled amoeboid creatures. These […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":2177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,10,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biology","category-chemistry","category-picture-science"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPicture Science: The Calcareous Crust of a Slime Mold - Little, Big Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lbscience.org\/en\/2026\/01\/13\/picture-science-the-calcareous-crust-of-a-slime-mold\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Picture Science: The Calcareous Crust of a Slime Mold - Little, Big Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the image: a slime mold called Physarum album, whose genus name comes from the greek word for "bubble" [1], shown at 10\u00d7 magnification (left) and 50\u00d7 magnification (right). 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