1 log 2 chitin enthusiasts 3 sporulators 4 kingdoms

It's certainly IS a word no matter what woogles says, but you might want to unlearn the taxonomic concept

It is an invalid evolutionary grouping, however

This is not a fungus actually! Slime molds are huge unwalled mobile single cells that digest live prey internally. Fungi are immobile, walled, multicellular decomposers. Many are toxic or pathogenic. They are more closely related to animals! Both produce spores, but so do moss, kelp, myxozoa, etc

This one is full of tiny bones

I write music about slime molds so I have personal experience with this tension! 😅 Taxonomy is intrinsically subjective & thus malleable in grouping, naming, & describing. But the intention is always to represent evolutionary groups. IMO it is possible to stretch & reframe without discarding this

I envy you right now. You're about to hear about some of the weirdest freaks on the tree of life for the very first time

The only testable approach is evolutionary history determined by morphological & molecular data, the former being subordinate to the latter. IMO "Protista" is as useful as sorting Bacteria, Archaea, & Fungi into the Plant kingdom: more compact, historically popular, scientifically meaningless

I am happy to discuss this forever or until you become bored, whichever happens first. I have no interest in changing your mind or your behavior, I just like to talk about this stuff. I'm happy to change my own mind or no one's mind. I argue as a process of learning

Lets ignore prokaryotes for now Animals Fungi Plants Protista Misleading, internally inconsistent Animals Fungi Amoebozoans (slime molds) Plants Harosans (kelp) Discobans (euglenid algae) Each kingdom genetically distinct w/ has unique traits. You may rename, divide, & combine as needed

Ah, I see. That is actually another fungus. Maybe a mucoromycete.

Protista isn't a useful category genetically, morphologically, or ecologically. Protists aren't related and they aren't similar. Nearly all eukaryotic life is found on 6 branches, including 100% of the multicellular & macroscopic species, and these branches (or kingdoms) each have unique features

Where is the slime mold

During the fruiting process, wolf milk pumps out water through a series of tubes. The water exits the spore mass & evaporates, leaving various oils, crystals, & pigments inside those little bumps. The shape, orientation, & contents of the bumps are specific to each species, & there are more than 50!

No apology is necessary, it is a widely repeated misconception. Slime molds are actually quite unlike fungi despite many people's assumptions, & less closely related to fungi than we are. In many ways slime molds are more similar to animals, & in other ways they are an entirely unique kingdom

The yellow bits are nearly 100% calcium carbonate, & the lighter coloring may be as well

The stalks may be visible here & would have been more obvious in person

It does look like Stemonitis splendens. But could it be the fungus Inonotus rickii? I've been fooled before (see pic 1 below). The easiest way to tell is to look for thin black stalks at the base (see pic 2). I can't tell for sure, looking at your photos. They are sometimes very tiny & short

This article incorrectly states that slime molds consume dead plant matter. They do not. They eat live microbes (& in a few unusual cases, macro fungi). They are not decomposers.