Coprophilous fungi are a type of saprobic fungi that grow on animal dung

Feces

Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...

. The hardy spores of coprophilous species are unwittingly consumed by herbivores from vegetation, and are excreted along with the plant matter. The fungi then flourish in the feces, before releasing their spores to the surrounding area.

Life cycle

Coprophilous fungi release their spore

Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...

s to the surrounding vegetation, which is then eaten by herbivore

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

s. The spores then remain in the animal as the plants are digested

Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....

, pass through the animal's intestines and are finally defecated. The fruiting bodies of the fungi then grow from the animal feces. It is essential that the spores of the species then reach new plant material; spores remaining in the feces will produce nothing. As such, some species have developed means of discharging spores a large distance. An example of this is the genus Pilobolus

Pilobolus

Pilobolus is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung.-Life cycle:The life cycle of Pilobolus begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a horse then eats the substrate, unknowingly consuming the...

. Fruiting bodies of Pilobolus will suddenly rupture, sending the contents over 2 metres away.

The animal feces provides an environment rich in nitrogenous material

Nitrogen cycle

The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms. This transformation can be carried out by both biological and non-biological processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification...

, which has been largely sterilised by the high temperature, as well as the enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

s in the animal's digestive system. The spores themselves survive digestion by being particularly thick-walled, allowing them to germinate in the dung with minimum competition from other organisms. This thick wall is often broken down during digestion, readying the spore for germination. The spores are so hardy that samples of dried dung can later be rehydrated, allowing the fungus to fruit weeks later.

Distribution

The distribution of coprophilous fungi is closely linked to the distribution of the herbivores on which they rely, such as rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

s, deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

, cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

, horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s and sheep. Some species rely on a specific species for dung; for instance, Coprinus radiatus and Panaeolus campanulatus grow almost exclusively on horse feces, while others, such as Panaeolus sphinctrinus, can grow on any feces or even just particularly fertile soil. Further, some species (such as Conocybe rickenii

Conocybe rickenii

Conocybe rickenii is a mushroom from the genus Conocybe. Its edibility is disputed, and it has the appearance of a typical little brown mushroom with a small, conical cap, and long, thin stem. In colour, it is generally a cream-brown, lighter on the stem, and it has a thin layer of flesh with no...

) can be found in large numbers in areas where manure

Manure

Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...

 has been used as a soil fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

, such as in gardens. Some coprophilous fungi are also known to grow from the dung of omnivore

Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...

s (such as Chaetomium globisporum from rat

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

 droppings) or even carnivore

Carnivore

A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...

s (such as Chaetomium rajasthanense, from tiger

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

 feces).

Mushroom-producing species

Although not all coprophilous fungi produce mushrooms, there are many that do, particularly in the genera Coprinus

Coprinus

Coprinus is a small genus of mushrooms consisting of Coprinus comatus and several of its close relatives. Until 2001, Coprinus was a large genus consisting of all agaric species in which the lamellae autodigested to release their spores...

, Panaeolus

Panaeolus

Panaeolus is a genus of small, black-spored, saprotrophic agarics. The word Panaeolus is Greek for "all variegated", alluding to the spotted gills of the mushrooms produced.- Characteristics :...

and Psilocybe

Psilocybe

Psilocybe is a genus of small mushrooms growing worldwide. This genus is best known for its species with psychedelic or hallucinogenic properties, widely known as "magic mushrooms", though the majority of species do not contain hallucinogenic compounds...

. Known species include:

• Bolbitius vitellinus
• Deconica coprophila
• Conocybe pubescens
• Conocybe rickenii
  Conocybe rickenii
  Conocybe rickenii is a mushroom from the genus Conocybe. Its edibility is disputed, and it has the appearance of a typical little brown mushroom with a small, conical cap, and long, thin stem. In colour, it is generally a cream-brown, lighter on the stem, and it has a thin layer of flesh with no...
  
  
• Coprinus niveus
• Coprinus narcoticus
• Coprinus patouillardii
• Coprinus radiatus
• Crucibulum laeve
• Cyathus stercoreus
  Cyathus stercoreus
  Cyathus stercoreus, commonly known as the dung-loving bird's nest, is a species of fungus in the genus Cyathus, family Nidulariaceae. Like other species in the Nidulariaceae, the fruiting bodies of C. stercoreus resemble tiny bird's nests filled with eggs...
  
  
• Panaeolus campanulatus
• Panaeolus sphinctrinus
• Panaeolus semiovatus
• Psilocybe merdaria
• Stropharia semiglobata