Endogonales
Encyclopedia
Endogonales is an order
of fungi within the phylum
of Zygomycota
. It contains only one family
, Endogonaceae, with four genera
and 27 species.
s containing many zygospore
s, which are eaten by rodents and distributed by their feces.
They also produce a fetid odor that attracts mammal
s and encourages them to eat their fruiting bodies, and so spread their spores.
s with some being described as saprobes (with weak evidence).
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of fungi within the phylum
Phylum
In biology, a phylum The term was coined by Georges Cuvier from Greek φῦλον phylon, "race, stock," related to φυλή phyle, "tribe, clan." is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division....
of Zygomycota
Zygomycota
Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a phylum of fungi. The name comes from zygosporangia, where resistant spherical spores are formed during sexual reproduction. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly terrestrial in habitat, living in soil or on decaying plant or animal material...
. It contains only one family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Endogonaceae, with four genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
and 27 species.
Life cycle
The life cycle of the Engogonales is distinguished by their production of small sporocarpSporocarp (fungi)
In fungi, the sporocarp is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne...
s containing many zygospore
Zygospore
A zygospore is a diploid reproductive stage in the life cycle of many fungi and protists. Zygospores are created by the nuclear fusion of haploid cells. In fungi, zygospores are termed chlamydospores and are formed after the fusion of hyphae of different mating types...
s, which are eaten by rodents and distributed by their feces.
They also produce a fetid odor that attracts mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s and encourages them to eat their fruiting bodies, and so spread their spores.
Food
Like all fungi, they are heterotrophHeterotroph
A heterotroph is an organism that cannot fix carbon and uses organic carbon for growth. This contrasts with autotrophs, such as plants and algae, which can use energy from sunlight or inorganic compounds to produce organic compounds such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins from inorganic carbon...
s with some being described as saprobes (with weak evidence).