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Amanita elongatospora A.E. Wood

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Scientific name
Amanita elongatospora
Author
A.E. Wood
Common names
 
IUCN Specialist Group
Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball
Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Basidiomycota
Class
Agaricomycetes
Order
Agaricales
Family
Amanitaceae
Assessment status
Published
Assessment date
2019-07-24
IUCN Red List Category
VU
IUCN Red List Criteria
C1
Assessors
Leonard, P.L.
Reviewers
Guard, F.

Assessment Notes

The content on this page is fetched from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/154321520/154323090

Justification

Amanita elongatospora cannot readily be distinguished from other Amanita species on the basis of macroscopic features alone. But those features when combined with information on the size and shape of the spores makes the species readily distinguishable. It has mostly been found growing in coastal areas of southern and eastern Australia and it is these areas which are under the greatest pressure for development, and where risks from fire and storm and recreational pressure are greatest.

With an estimated population size of 3000-6000 mature individuals, and continuing decline of at least 10% within three generations, this species qualifies as Vulnerable under criterion C1.

Taxonomic notes

Wood (1997):

"This species is closely related to A. sordidogrisea, because both have grey caps, without conical warts and elongate spores. It differs from that species in having slightly more elongate spores, clamp connections, a persistent annulus, larger inflated cells in velar remains, and somewhat wider marginal cells. Amanita griseoconica differs in having conical warts on the cap and broadly ellipsoid spores. There seem to be no other similar species."

Pat Leonard pers. comm:

"The Sunshine Coast collection keyed to A. elangatospora when first examined and the high Q value of the spores matches Wood’s figure and supports this conclusion. However, it is not clear whether the base has a volva or not. It is also possible that this is an undescribed species."

Geographic range

This species is recorded from New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Based on the principle that recordings that are >500 km apart are different sub-populations, then there are 3 subpopulations (see table below).
Subpopulation Locality State Date Type of record Source Herbarium Catalogue number
1 Fraser Island* Queensland 5/04/2011 Specimen Guard, F.E. BRI AQ0795070
1 Girraween NP Queensland 14/11/2016 Specimen Guard, F.E. BRI AQ0876934
1 Sunshine Coast Queensland 23/03/2017 Observation Patrick Leonard 
1 Murwillumbah, Mooball State Forest New South Wales Before 1997 Specimen J.J. Bruhl (within Wood 1997) 17.iii..83, J.J.Bruhl (UNSW 83/219)
2 Sydney, Royal National Park New South Wales Before 1997 Specimen J.J. Bruhl (within Wood 1997) 18.iv.83, J.J.Bruhl (UNSW 83/464)
3 Port Sorell Tasmania 14/04/2016 Specimen Garnett, R.J.; Collier, P.A. MEL 2408967A

Population and Trends

This species is difficult to recognise. There are only 6 confirmed records for this species, therefore population trends cannot be inferred.

There are only six records for this species at six separate locations. They probably represent three subpopulations with the northern New South Wales and South-east Queensland collections being in one subpopulation. Because this species requires microscopic examination for confirmation we expect it has been overlooked by many amateur mycologists. But set against that is the fact that Alec Wood who wrote the monograph on Australian Amanita, Derek Reid from Kew and Tony Young all collected and identified this genus in New South Wales and Queensland over a considerable period. 

It is likely that each site represents 2 functional individuals, constituting 10 mature individuals (Dahlberg and Mueller 2011), therefore it is expected that there are 60 mature individuals at the currently known sites. There is a long narrow band of habitat which may be suitable, so there may be 50-100 times as many sites at which it is present but not recorded. Therefore the estimated total population is 3000-6000.

Within the general area of its distribution, there is a continuing decline of around 1% of habitat per year, and the quality of the remaining habitat is also in rapid decline. This decline is expected to be particularly intense within the narrow band of this species' occurrence. We therefore expect that there has been a population decline well exceeding 10% over the last 50 years (three generations).

Population Trend: decreasing


Habitat and Ecology

The few records for this species describe the habitat as Eucalyptus open forest, moist hardwood forest, Angophora costata woodland or wallum heathland. Where given, the associated plant species in the Eucalyptus open forest were Eucalyptus racemosa, Lophostemon confertus, Banksia aemula and cycads. For wallum heathland associated plant species were Melaleuca and some Allocasuarina. Soil was described as sandy and acidic for Fraser Island and Noosa records. Most (but not all) Amanita sp. are thought to be all ectomycorrhizal.

Threats

Most Amanita species are ectomycorrhizal. Therefore, this species would be threatened by land clearing of potential host species (see Habitat and Ecology). The habitat in which this species is found has declined rapidly as it is much in demand for urban development and for agricultural production. The sites in which these collections have been made are almost all managed by burning and have varying degrees of pollution, which could pose a threat for this species. Northern New South Wales and South-East Queensland have experienced the highest rates of clearing of Australia (Bradshaw 2012). The cleared forest in Queensland is equivalent to ~ 50% of the state’s total land surface and most of this clearing has happened in the last 50 years and in the South-East. In Northern New South Wales, between 50-67% of Eucalypt forests have been cleared (Bradshaw 2012). Therefore, many locations where this species is found have degraded or have been highly fragmented which has implied population losses for this species.

Conservation Actions

There are currently no conservation actions taken for this species. Most records are from within National Parks or reserves that already have some protection. Although, there are no data to confirm whether this is adequate to protect this species. Many of these reserves or National Parks are surrounded by extensive urban or agricultural areas that have had extensive land clearing.

Research is needed to establish its habitat and distribution, by mapping acid free-draining soils. Further investigation is also needed regarding its ectomycorrhizal status, host range, and taxonomic status with genetic data.

Use and Trade

This species is not utilised.

Source and Citation

Leonard, P.L. 2019. Amanita elongatospora. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T154321520A154323090. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T154321520A154323090.en .Accessed on 11 February 2025

Country occurrence