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Here we present the results of taxonomic and systematic study of the rare truffle-forming genera Destuntzia and Kjeldsenia. Truffle-forming fungi are difficult to study due to their reduced morphological features and their cryptic, hypogeous fruiting habits. The rare occurrence of Destuntzia and Kjeldsenia further compounds these difficulties due to the lack of adequate material for study. Recent forays in North Carolina and Tennessee recovered new specimens of another rarely collected fungus, Octaviania purpurea. Morphological and phylogenetic analysis revealed that Octaviania purpurea is a member of the genus Destuntzia, and this led us to reevaluate the taxonomic status and systematic relationships of other Destuntzia species. We performed a multilocus phylogenetic analysis of Destuntzia specimens deposited in public fungaria, including all available type material, and environmental sequences from animal scat and soil. Our analyses indicate that Destuntzia is a member of the family Claustulaceae within the order Phallales and is a close relative of Kjeldsenia. Results of our phylogenetic analysis infer that three species originally described in the genus Destuntzia are members of the genus Kjeldsenia. We propose three new combinations in Kjeldsenia to accommodate these species as well as a new combination in Destuntzia to accommodate Octaviania purpurea. We also describe a new genus in Claustulaceae, Hosakaea, to accommodate a closely affiliated species, Octaviania violascens. Finally, we transfer the genus Destunzia into the family Claustulaceae and emend the description of the family. The newly proposed combinations in Destuntzia and Kjeldsenia significantly expand the known geographic ranges of both genera. The data from metabarcode analysis of scat and soil also reveal several additional undescribed species that expand these ranges well beyond those suggested by basidiomata collections. Systematic placement of Destuntzia in the saprotrophic order Phallales suggests that this genus is not ectomycorrhizal, and the ecological implications of this systematic revision are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Many mycorrhizal fungi are vital to nutrient acquisition in plant communities, and some taxa are reliant on animal-mediated dispersal. The majority of animals that disperse spores are relatively small and have short-distance movement patterns, but carnivores – and especially apex predators – eat many of these small mycophagists and then move greater distances. No studies to date have assessed the ecosystem services carnivores provide through long-distance spore dispersal. Aims. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether Australia’s free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris), including dingoes, act as long-distance spore dispersers by predating smaller mycophagous animals and then secondarily dispersing the fungi consumed by these prey species. Methods. To answerthis question, we collected dingo scats along 40 km of transects in eastern Australia and analysed the scats to determine the presence of fungal spores and prey animals. Using telemetry and passage rate data, we then developed a movement model to predict the spore dispersal potential of dingoes. Key results. We found 16 species of mammalian prey to be eaten by dingoes, and those dingo scats contained spores of 14 genera of mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi were more likely to appear in the scats of dingoes if primary mycophagist prey mammals had been consumed. Our model predicted dingo median spore dispersal distance to be 2050 m and maximum dispersal potential to be 10 700 m. Conclusions. Our study indicates that dingoes are providing a previously overlooked ecosystem service through the long-distance dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi. Many of the fungi found in this study form hypogeous (underground) fruiting bodies that are unable to independently spread spores via wind. Because dingoes move over larger areas than their prey, they are especially important to these ecosystem functions. Implications. Our novel approach to studying an overlooked aspect of predator ecology is applicable in most terrestrial ecosystems. Similar modelling approaches could also be employed to understand the dispersal potential of both primary and secondary spore dispersers globally. Because this study highlights an unrecognised ecosystem service provided by dingoes, we hope that it will stimulate research to develop a more comprehensive understanding of other apex predators’ ecosystem functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycophagous mammals perform important ecosystem services through their dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi (particularly truffles). In order to better understand the role of Tasmanian bandicoots in these associations, we examined the stomach and scat contents of specimens of southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus) and eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) preserved in the mammal collections of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. Our study shows that fungi are consumed by both species and that these mammals likely play a key role in ecosystem function through their dispersal of mycorrhizal fungal spores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goodenough Island is in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea and is located off of New Guinea's eastern coast. Goodenough Island has a unique yet poorly studied mammal community. Previous dietary study of mycophagous New Guinean forest wallabies showed that Goodenough Island's endemic black forest wallaby (Dorcopsis atrata) ate at least 12 taxa of fungi. Using spirit collections at the Australian Museum in Sydney, we evaluated and compared fungal diversity in rodent diets on the same island. We sampled diets of four Goodenough Island rodent species (Chiruromys forbesi , Paramelomys platyops , Rattus exulans and Rattus mordax) and show that fungi are dietary components for three of these mammals. This research note investigates the diets of four rare rodents found on Goodenough Island in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The study also provides insights into the ecological role of these rodents as dispersers of fungal spores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of mammal‐fungal interactions, tools to estimate the mammal‐assisted dispersal distances of fungi are lacking. Many mammals actively consume fungal fruiting bodies, the spores of which remain viable after passage through their digestive tract. Many of these fungi form symbiotic relationships with trees and provide an array of other key ecosystem functions. We present a flexible, general model to predict the distance a mycophagous mammal would disperse fungal spores. We modeled the probability of spore dispersal by combining animal movement data from GPS telemetry with data on spore gut‐retention time. We test this model using an exemplar generalist mycophagist, the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor). We show that swamp wallabies disperse fungal spores hundreds of meters—and occasionally up to 1,265 m—from the point of consumption, distances that are ecologically significant for many mycorrhizal fungi. In addition to highlighting the ecological importance of swamp wallabies as dispersers of mycorrhizal fungi in eastern Australia, our simple modeling approach provides a novel and effective way of empirically describing spore dispersal by a mycophagous animal. This approach is applicable to the study of other animal‐fungi interactions in other ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungi are an important food source for a diversity of vertebrates and invertebrates around the world and in turn, these animals play a key part in the dispersal of many fungi. These associations have been most thoroughly studied between mammals and truffles. In this natural history note, we provide the first report of mycophagy by the Australian King‐Parrot (Alisterus scapularis) and the first documentation of wildlife consumption of the genus Cyttaria in Australia. We also review the literature regarding use of this southern hemisphere endemic genus Cyttaria for food by vertebrates and how these associations may impact its dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperate forests of Australia support a high diversity of hypogeous fungi and a wide variety of mycophagous mammals, yet many mammal-fungal relationships are still poorly understood. We studied the seasonal fungal diets of eight sympatric mammals (seven marsupials and one rodent) in a remnant montane eucalypt forest. Fifty-five different fungal taxa were identified from 305 scat samples. Swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) and brown antechinus (A. stuartii) were the primary mycophagists in this community, but all mammals consumed fungi, including three species not previously recorded as mycophagous (eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus; common wallaroo, Osphranter robustus; and common dunnart, Sminthopsis murina). Winter was the peak season for fungal consumption and dietary diversity of fungi, however, the diversity of taxa ingested varied between species and season. Our work supports the idea that a diverse mycophagous mammal community is important for maintaining natural variation in fungal community composition. • All mammals sampled consumed fungi, with 55 different taxa identified in diets. • Three marsupials not previously identified as mycophagous consumed fungi. • Fungi occurred in diets year-round, with peaks of dietary diversity in winter. • Small dasyurids like antechinus have been underappreciated as mycophagists. • A diverse community of mycophagists is vital to maintaining forest health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on animal-fungal interactions between Bowerbird and fungi. It states that Bowerbirds are endemic to Australia and New Guinea, and mentions that the birds make their bowers with materials like eaves, pieces of plastic, and mushrooms, and color them with charcoal or their colorful saliva. It notes a bower of Ptilonorhynchus violaceus found in the study and cites fondness of the bird for colors like the pale violet to pale lilac.