Fly Agaric vs Candelillo

Amanita muscaria compared with Mazama bricenii

Key Differences

• Fly Agaric is Least Concern while Candelillo is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Candelillo
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Artiodactyla (artiodáctilos)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Cervidae (Deer)
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Mazama
Species	Amanita muscaria	Mazama bricenii

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Candelillo

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Candelillo
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).

Candelillo

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

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

Fly Agaric

El matamoscas (Amanita muscaria) es uno de los hongos más icónicos y reconocibles de la Tierra, con llamativos sombreros rojos con manchas blancas en los bosques boreales del hemisferio norte. A pesar de su apariencia de cuento de hadas, contiene potentes compuestos psicoactivos como muscimol y ácido iboténico y es moderadamente tóxico. Forma simbiosis micorrícicas esenciales con abedules, pinos y abetos, intercambiando nutrientes minerales por carbono y desempeñando roles fundamentales en el ciclo de nutrientes de los bosques boreales.