In this episode of The Southern Naturalist, Dr. Bob and Dr. Aimée Thomas explore the slimy, strange, and surprisingly intelligent world of slime molds — with a special focus on the infamous Fuligo septica, also known as dog vomit slime mold. Despite its less-than-appealing nickname, this bright yellow protist is a marvel of biology.
Slime molds are cosmopolitan species, meaning they can be found all over the world — from your backyard mulch pile to deep forest floors. While F. septica takes center stage, we also explore a range of other slime mold species and what they reveal about the natural world.
These unique organisms have long defied easy classification. Though they’re often mistaken for fungi, slime molds are actually protists — a fascinating group of life forms that blur the lines between what we think we know about cells, movement, and even behavior.
We discuss how scientists use slime molds to study things like traffic flow and network optimization, how some slime molds can “solve” mazes, and how their behavior continues to baffle researchers. You'll also hear about the strange folklore that surrounds slime molds across cultures and why these humble blobs have captured the human imagination for centuries.
Whether you're a slime mold skeptic or a full-blown myxomycophile, this episode is a deep dive into the gooey, brainy, and totally bizarre world of some of nature’s most overlooked organisms.
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Hosts: Dr. Bob Thomas and Dr. Aimée Thomas
Produced by Emma Reid
Intro Music composition by Hunter Wainwright