Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager vs Clustered Domecap

Anisognathus melanogenys compared with Lyophyllum decastes

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager	Clustered Domecap
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Thraupidae	Lyophyllaceae
Genus	Anisognathus	Lyophyllum
Species	Anisognathus melanogenys	Lyophyllum decastes

Conservation Status

Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager

LC — Least Concern

Clustered Domecap

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager	Clustered Domecap
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Norway.

Clustered Domecap

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, Chile).

Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager

The Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager (Anisognathus melanogenys) is a species in the genus Anisognathus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. Distributed across Colombia and Norway.

Clustered Domecap

Lyophyllum decastes, the clustered domecap or fried chicken mushroom, is a robust saprotrophic or possibly mycorrhizal basidiomycete in the family Lyophyllaceae that produces large, densely clustered fruiting bodies at the base of dead hardwoods, stumps, or from buried wood and woody debris. The caps are grey-brown to tan, broadly convex to domed, often with wavy margins in crowded clusters. Gills are white to pallid, crowded, and sinuate. It is distributed across the northern hemisphere in broadleaf and mixed forests. L. decastes is edible and considered a choice food mushroom in parts of Europe and Japan, where its firm texture and mild flavor have earned it the English nickname 'fried chicken mushroom.' However, definitive identification requires care, as it can be confused with toxic lookalikes. Molecular studies have revealed that the concept of L. decastes may encompass multiple species or a species complex. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN and is commonly encountered in autumn in temperate woodlands, parks, and roadsides across its wide range.