Author(s): Sarah Lloyd

Tasmaniana

'Where the slime mould creeps' introduces the fascinating world of myxomycetes, the plasmodial or acellular slime moulds. It describes their life cycle, the different types of plasmodia and the key features of their spore-bearing fruiting bodies, with numerous images that reveal this important but little-known subject. This third edition includes updated information based on the latest research from around the world; additional personal accounts of slime mould 'hotspots'; and the species list for Black Sugarloaf-and Australia-has been updated. Also included are some of Thomas McBride's poetic descriptions from his 1899 book The North American Slime-Moulds, and musings about the function of iridescence in these beautiful but often overlooked organisms. The number of species depicted in this edition has increased to 121 and almost all the photographs in the previous editions have been replaced with images using focus stacking. Also included are more time-lapse series that show the remarkable changes in colour and shape of developing fruiting bodies, micrographs that illustrate the ornate microscopic features found within their spore mass, and scanning electron micrographs (SEM) that show features not captured by conventional microscopes. This book is packed with information intended for the general reader. Its numerous photographs and clear descriptions of key features should enable identification to family or genus for anyone lucky enough to find a slime mould.