Common Jelly Spot vs Polynesian rat

Dacrymyces stillatus compared with Rattus exulans

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Jelly Spot	Polynesian rat
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Dacrymycetes (Dacrymycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Dacrymycetales (Dacrymycetales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Dacrymycetaceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Dacrymyces	Rattus
Species	Dacrymyces stillatus	Rattus exulans

Conservation Status

Common Jelly Spot

LC — Least Concern

Polynesian rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Jelly Spot	Polynesian rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Jelly Spot

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Polynesian rat

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (6 countries), Europe (United Kingdom), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (11 countries), and South America (Chile).

Common Jelly Spot

<em>Dacrymyces stillatus</em>, commonly known as the common jelly spot, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Dacrymycetaceae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with records from five European countries and North America. The species typically grows on damp, dead, or decaying wood, particularly coniferous timber, forming small, gelatinous, orange-yellow cushions or pustules on the substrate surface. As a saprotrophic wood-decay fungus, it contributes to nutrient cycling and the decomposition of woody material in temperate forest ecosystems. The bright gelatinous fruiting bodies make it a conspicuous species when encountered on wet wood in cool, humid conditions. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.