Myxomycetes from a Conservation Perspective

Abstract

Myxomycetes, also known as slime moulds, are poorly-known and mysterious but amazingly photogenic organisms. At first they were thought to be fungi, but now there is general agreement that their true position is among the protozoa. The traditional association with fungi remains, however: many of those who study them are mycologists, they are covered by the same nomenclatural code, and are listed in mycology's main reference work, the Dictionary of the Fungi (Kirk et al., 2008). As a result, they are also covered by our Society.