TEST

Ileodictyon gracile

1 Smooth Cage at Wallaroo, NSW

Ileodictyon gracile at Wallaroo, NSW - 25 Aug 2019
Ileodictyon gracile at Wallaroo, NSW - 25 Aug 2019
Request use of media

Identification history

Ileodictyon gracile 27 Aug 2019 Heino1
Ileodictyon gracile 26 Aug 2019 DonFletcher
Unidentified 26 Aug 2019 maura

Identify this sighting


Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

A friend found the egg while gardening on the weekend. She describes the item as follows:" I found a spongy white egg shaped object and when I carefully pulled it apart this amazing structure unfolded." She went on to say " I cannot find anything like it on the net {ie Internet}. The egg shaped object was soft and cool to touch. I thought it was some kind of reptilian egg also [ I had suggested it might be a reptile egg] and was so surprised when the amazing structure unfolded before my eyes as I tore the casing open. The original casing was a bit over an inch long. Once opened it retained the hexagonal imprints on the inner side".

2 comments

DonFletcher wrote:
   27 Aug 2019
I'm no expert on fungi but I suspect this may be a fungus.
Heino1 wrote:
   27 Aug 2019
When close to maturity the egg becomes fairly soft. I've had one open very quickly, almost explosively, and another very slowly - so much so that I had to prod it a bit. The first was on a very warm day, the other much cooler. That's suggestive, but from my sample of two I'd not dare claim the opening would always be faster with warmth.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 25 Aug 2019 05:00 PM Recorded on
  • maura Recorded by

Species information

  • Ileodictyon gracile Scientific name
  • Smooth Cage Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-Invasive
  • Up to 814.63m Recorded at altitude
  • Machine learning
2,167,042 sightings of 20,573 species in 6,801 locations from 11,955 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.