Fly Agaric vs Hotson’s Brush-tailed Mouse

Amanita muscaria compared with Calomyscus hotsoni

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Hotson’s Brush-tailed Mouse
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Calomyscidae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Calomyscus
Species	Amanita muscaria	Calomyscus hotsoni

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Hotson’s Brush-tailed Mouse

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Hotson’s Brush-tailed Mouse
Diet	Decomposer	—
Average Lifespan	1 years	—
Average Length	20 cm	—
Average Weight	100 g	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fly Agaric

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Hotson’s Brush-tailed Mouse

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Fly Agaric

Among the most iconic and recognizable fungi on Earth, fly agaric mushrooms display striking red caps with white flecked warts across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their fairy-tale appearance, they contain potent psychoactive compounds including muscimol and ibotenic acid and are moderately toxic. They form critical mycorrhizal symbioses with birch, pine, and spruce trees, exchanging mineral nutrients for carbon and playing essential roles in boreal forest nutrient cycling.