A new species of mushroom has been named after the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.
The fungus, Spongiforma squarepantsii, was discovered by San Francisco State University researchers in the forests of Borneo.
The mushroom is shaped like a sea sponge and has a fruity or musty smell, according to its discoverers, and is one of only two species in the Spongiforma genus.
It has become gelatinous or rubbery to keep its spores wet in the humid forest environment where it grows.
Researchers were further convinced to name the new discovery after the character when they noticed that under an electron-scanning microscope the spore-producing area of the fungus looks like a sea floor covered in sponges.
In the cartoon, SpongeBob lives on the sea floor in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom – although he looks more like a kitchen sponge than anything found in nature.
Professor Dennis E Desjardin, a co-author of the scientific paper on the fungus, says he expects it to have a wider range than the area where it was found.
“We go to underexplored forests around the world, and we spend months at a time collecting all the mushrooms and focusing on various groups,” he says.
"And when we do… anywhere from 25 percent to 30 percent of the species are new to science."
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