ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of mycophagy — in general the eating of fungi, but for purposes here restricted to the eating of fungal sporocarps-has been observed for centuries. It was embedded in mycological nomenclature by Ness von Esenbeck (1820), who coined the generic name
Elaphomyces
,
from the Greek for “deer fungus.” This widely distributed hypogeous ascomycete was well known to be scraped out of the soil and eaten by deer and came to be called the
Hirschtrüffel
(“stag truffle”). Mycophagy was subsequently noted by various authors such as Parks (1919), but serious study of the feeding habit began with Buller (1922a, b), who reported detailed observations of the fungal foraging behavior of red squirrels (
Sciurus vulgaris
) and slugs. Since this early pioneering research, sporocarp mycophagy has been shown to be
widespread among a diversity of invertebrates and vertebrates, as highlighted in detailed reviews such as Fogel and Trappe (1978), Wilding et al. (1988), Claridge and May (1994), and Claridge et al. (1996). The purpose of the current chapter, which builds on these earlier reviews, is threefold: (1) to provide a synopsis of the degree to which different animals, particularly mammals, consume fungal sporocarps; (2) to review the nutritional characteristics of fungi compared with other foodstuffs; and (3) to describe how differ-
ences in the digestive anatomy and physiology of mammal species might help explain the degree to which such foods are utilized in nature. Stemming from these broad subject areas, recommendations for future research are indicated. Literature cited here is mainly that from studies undertaken in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. and Australia, where studies of various aspects of mycophagy by mammals have been more extensive than in other parts of the world.
