vs Handley s Slender Opossum

Comatricha elegans compared with Marmosops handleyi

Key Differences

• is Not Evaluated while Handley s Slender Opossum is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Handley s Slender Opossum
Kingdom	Protozoa (protozoa)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mycetozoa	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Myxomycetes (Myxomycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Stemonitidales	Didelphimorphia (Didelphimorphia)
Family	Stemonitidaceae	Didelphidae
Genus	Comatricha	Marmosops
Species	Comatricha elegans	Marmosops handleyi

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

Handley s Slender Opossum

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Handley s Slender Opossum
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Belgium, Norway, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

Handley s Slender Opossum

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Colombia. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Comatricha elegans is a delicate myxomycete forming slender, stalked, cylindrical sporangia with an intricate internal network of threads (capillitium) that aid spore dispersal. It grows on decaying wood and bark in humid forest environments worldwide. This species belongs to a group of slime moulds notable for their elegant fruiting body architecture and cosmopolitan distribution.