Physarum polycephalum, commonly called the many-headed slime mold, is a single-celled organism of the Amoebozoa found in cool, moist, shaded habitats such as forest leaf litter and rotting logs across temperate regions worldwide. Despite its plant-like name it is not a fungus or plant but a plasmodial slime mold, spending most of its life as a single giant cell containing many nuclei that spreads in a network of tube-like veins searching for bacteria and other microbes to engulf. It has become a notable subject of scientific study for its ability to solve maze-like navigation problems and approximate efficient network layouts without any brain or nervous system, despite being a single cell.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to PeopleEcotourism and Research 1 Scientific Name Conservation Status Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Wikidata: Slime Mold
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Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Physarum polycephalum, Wikipedia
Lead
P. polycephalum is used as a model organism for research into motility, cellular differentiation, chemotaxis, cellular compatibility, and the cell cycle.
article text (habitat realm), EntityId 317649
Amoebae are microorganisms, typically haploid, that live primarily in the soil, where they phagocytose bacteria.
View the Source2. Wikipedia: Physarum polycephalum
3. GBIF (IUCN Red List category): GBIF IUCN Red List category for Physarum polycephalum
GBIF (IUCN Red List category)GBIF taxon key 3214606, category fieldQuote, GBIF taxon key 3214606, category field
"category": "NOT_EVALUATED"
View the Source IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Wikidata: Slime Mold
- Wikidata Q134950, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Child Taxon Of: Amoebozoa, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
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