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I'm curious for anyone familiar with all this, why is it that fungal mycelium colonies and Portuguese Man-o-wars aren't considered multicellular organisms but t
by friend_and_foe 3y ago
I'm curious for anyone familiar with all this, why is it that fungal mycelium colonies and Portuguese Man-o-wars aren't considered multicellular organisms but things like slime molds are? Fruiting fungi even have specialized reproductive cells, and Portuguese Man-o-wars have two sexes, each specimen having all cells of the same sex in a single colony. What's the determining factor or set of determining factors that deliniate colonies of single cell organisms from multicellular organisms?
- User23 3y agoIt’s arbitrary and based on tradition.
- andrewedstrom 3y agoSlight correction: Portuguese Man-o-wars are actually considered multicellular organisms. They’re weird organisms composed of multiple distinct animals that cannot survive independently and that originate from the same fertilized egg. But they are unambiguously multicellular.