The taxonomic status of Badhamia ovispora: a myxomycete with unique spores [Slime mold]

Raciborski's holotype of Badhamia ovispora was examined and compared with specimens collected and identified by European and North American monographers as B. ovispora. It is now apparent that Raciborksi's original description of B. ovispora was partially inaccurate and that at least two distinct species have been referred to this name. Badhamia ovispora is characterized by the absence of a columella, a capillitium consisting of a white calcareous meshwork, free spores that are uniquely reniform to allantoid in shape and marked with raised plaquelike areas, and its apparent restriction to decaying wood or bark. A smooth-spored species of Badhamia, formerly included under B. ovispora, is characterized by the presence of a columella, free spores that are ovate in shape with a low ridge or ring along one side, and apparent restriction to straw, decaying leaves, and dung of herbivorous animals.