Calostoma fuscum
1 Common Prettymouth at Paddys River, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Calostoma fuscum | Heinol | 6 Mar 2026 | |
| Calostoma fuscum | TimL | 6 Mar 2026 |
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2 comments
6 Mar 2026
Thanks for the identification @Heinol I’ve looked back through my previous sightings and am fairly certain that this Common Prettymouth is the same one recorded in sighting 4680226 on 6th June 2025, almost ten months ago, based on debris embedded in the surrounding embankment. The puffball has grown slightly in size since that first sighting and shows minimal deterioration and physical damage despite its location and the environment it has been subjected to high up at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. I had no idea that this type of puffball is so rugged and takes so long to mature.
6 Mar 2026
An interesting observation. I haven't come across reports of the longevity of the fruitbody in this species. At the time of the earlier sighting it would already have been mature. Puffballs and their kin, once mature, can be around for months and shed spores over a long time but usually you can tell when one's been around for a while because there are obvious signs of weathering.
Location information
- Maps Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
- Places Paddys River, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- TimL Recorded by
Collections
- TimL NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Calostoma fuscum Other puffballs, etc (& the unknowns) Puffballs & the like Fungi
Species information
- Calostoma fuscum Scientific name
- Common Prettymouth Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 972.1m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes