Common Rustgill vs Javan Rusa

Gymnopilus penetrans compared with Rusa timorensis

Key Differences

• Common Rustgill is Least Concern while Javan Rusa is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Rustgill	Javan Rusa
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family	Hymenogastraceae	Cervidae (Deer)
Genus	Gymnopilus	Rusa
Species	Gymnopilus penetrans	Rusa timorensis

Conservation Status

Common Rustgill

LC — Least Concern

Javan Rusa

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Rustgill	Javan Rusa
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Rustgill

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

Javan Rusa

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Oceanian realms.

Range

Distributed across Mauritius, New Zealand, and Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Rustgill

<em>Gymnopilus penetrans</em>, the common rustgill, is a saprotrophic basidiomycete fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae, commonly found across temperate regions of Europe and beyond. It has been recorded in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, typically fruiting on decaying conifer wood, stumps, buried roots, and woody debris in forests and woodland habitats. The fruiting bodies are small to medium-sized mushrooms with tawny orange to rust-brown caps, typically 2–7 centimeters in diameter, and bright rusty-orange gills that give the species its common name. The stem is similarly colored and typically fibrous. As a wood-decaying fungus, common rustgill plays an important ecological role in the decomposition of dead conifer timber and the recycling of nutrients in forest ecosystems. The species produces minute, roughened, rusty-brown spores. It is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The common rustgill typically fruits from late summer through autumn. It may occasionally be confused with related <em>Gymnopilus</em> species; some members of the genus contain potentially toxic or psychoactive compounds, though <em>G. penetrans</em> is generally considered of low toxicity. Biological traits such as average lifespan and detailed dietary substrate specificity remain poorly documented in comprehensive ecological databases.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway