Reference Book On Slime Moulds (1 Viewer)

[mdb2]

Could anyone suggest a good guide/reference book on slime moulds ID please
Kind regards mike

 

[Trichia]

Hi Mike,

I guess it depends on how far you want to 'get into them' - If you just want to get an introduction to the group, this book is fine but you'll quickly find it frustrating as it only covers a handful of species:

http://www.amazon.com/Myxomycetes-A-Handbook-Slime-Molds/dp/0881924393

This next one I don't own (yet!) but I have heard that it contains some beautiful images and is probably the most up-to-date. t's pretty pricey and I imagine that at least part of the text is in French, but at least the keys are in English:

http://www.summerfieldbooks.com/les-myxomyc%E8tes.~3341

This series contains some stunning drawings and photos and is split into three taxonomic groups (for the more discerning myxomycologist!). One downside is that all the text is in German (and another is the price!):

http://www.nhbs.com/series/52021/die-myxomyceten

This one is considered the 'definitive' guide to British Myxos. It's out of print, but you can sometimes find a cheap copy if you keep an eye out on the auction sites. There are no colour photos and I suspect that my three year old daughter could come up with better illustrations, but the keys are fairly straight forward and it's still (more or less) up-to-date:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Myxomycetes-Britain-Ireland-Identification/dp/0855462515

There's also a lot of good stuff on the internet - I recommend downloading (for free!) Listers' immense monograph. It's more than a century old, so parts are out-of-date (but you can always cross reference names here: http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp).
Personally, I printed the whole thing (it takes a while) and regularly use the amazingly detailed illustrations as a reference (it's worth noting that if you want to print the illustrations that they are on every other page - They start at around page 75). It took me quite a while to get used to the key as it's quite different to a standardised modern one, but I think it works O.K after several practice runs:

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/61303#page/382/mode/1up

Another site that I regularly use for reference is this one:

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q

If you have a 'click around' you'll find some lovely photos, as well as micro pics and the odd Scanning Electron Microscope photo. There are full descriptions too!

Hope that helps....
I know all the terminology takes a while to get used to, as do the cryptic lifestyles and many other aspects of the group, but if you stick with them they are very rewarding (and suprising!) organisms. You can always post your findings here and I'll try you out to the best of my ability (I know my way around a few of the genera as my username might suggest!).
I can't remember if you're one of the regulars here that have access to a microscope, but I'm always willing to take a look at a specimen if you don't mind paying the postage (this offer is open to any members of the forum - just PM me).

Cheers,
Nick

 

[mdb2]

Hi Mike,

I guess it depends on how far you want to 'get into them' - If you just want to get an introduction to the group, this book is fine but you'll quickly find it frustrating as it only covers a handful of species:

http://www.amazon.com/Myxomycetes-A-Handbook-Slime-Molds/dp/0881924393

This next one I don't own (yet!) but I have heard that it contains some beautiful images and is probably the most up-to-date. t's pretty pricey and I imagine that at least part of the text is in French, but at least the keys are in English:

http://www.summerfieldbooks.com/les-myxomyc%E8tes.~3341

This series contains some stunning drawings and photos and is split into three taxonomic groups (for the more discerning myxomycologist!). One downside is that all the text is in German (and another is the price!):

http://www.nhbs.com/series/52021/die-myxomyceten

This one is considered the 'definitive' guide to British Myxos. It's out of print, but you can sometimes find a cheap copy if you keep an eye out on the auction sites. There are no colour photos and I suspect that my three year old daughter could come up with better illustrations, but the keys are fairly straight forward and it's still (more or less) up-to-date:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Myxomycetes-Britain-Ireland-Identification/dp/0855462515

There's also a lot of good stuff on the internet - I recommend downloading (for free!) Listers' immense monograph. It's more than a century old, so parts are out-of-date (but you can always cross reference names here: http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp).
Personally, I printed the whole thing (it takes a while) and regularly use the amazingly detailed illustrations as a reference (it's worth noting that if you want to print the illustrations that they are on every other page - They start at around page 75). It took me quite a while to get used to the key as it's quite different to a standardised modern one, but I think it works O.K after several practice runs:

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/61303#page/382/mode/1up

Another site that I regularly use for reference is this one:

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q

If you have a 'click around' you'll find some lovely photos, as well as micro pics and the odd Scanning Electron Microscope photo. There are full descriptions too!

Hope that helps....
I know all the terminology takes a while to get used to, as do the cryptic lifestyles and many other aspects of the group, but if you stick with them they are very rewarding (and suprising!) organisms. You can always post your findings here and I'll try you out to the best of my ability (I know my way around a few of the genera as my username might suggest!).
I can't remember if you're one of the regulars here that have access to a microscope, but I'm always willing to take a look at a specimen if you don't mind paying the postage (this offer is open to any members of the forum - just PM me).

Cheers,
Nick

Hi Nick and many many thanks, more than I could hope for it will take awhile to get through this lot. I was out on an early fungi foray with a small group and took some photos all hand held whilst trying out a friends macro lens (vivitar 105 dinar macro wiyh an adapter?) the photos are ok but not great. I have made tentative enquiries on the websites and was amazed at how photogenic slide moulds could be! When I get a decent shot I will upload it.
Again many thanks and kind regards Mike

 

[StuartReeves]

I can't help with the query but as ever I'm amazed by the sheer breadth of expertise to be found on BF. It's rare that there is a query that no-one can answer but I'm still impressed that the expertise stretches as far as slime moulds!