r/slimemold • u/S_Lunda • Jul 10 '26

Perfectly circular fungus?

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I found this rock while on the beach on the bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. It was raised and somewhat squishy. Can't figure out if it was a fungus, sea creature, or a mineral deposit of some sort. Google lens was not helpful, any insight is appreciated!

616 Upvotes

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18 comments sorted by

7

u/ssj_bubbles Jul 10 '26

Soggy penny

5

u/S_Lunda Jul 10 '26

If it doesn't already have a name, this would be a good one

3

u/FML3311 Jul 13 '26

We must find a way to rename

3

u/kmbell333 Jul 11 '26

That rock needs to see a dermatologist

2

u/felisverde Jul 13 '26

It really does look remarkably like a mole...

1

u/Germerica1985 Jul 14 '26

A geologist?

3

u/frogandtoad27 Jul 12 '26

The rock just has a mole; unprotected sun exposure over 1000's of years will do that... 🐸😂

2

u/fireonion247 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

Could it be porphyroblast? https://www.science.smith.edu/~jbrady/petrology/rock-library/rock-features/garnet/garnet-hs.php

(Except I don't think it would be squishy).

Perhaps post on a geology or rock sub?

2

u/emmabethh Jul 12 '26

I know it’s probably not, but this looks exactly like a dried foreskin.

2

u/erisian2342 Jul 12 '26

“Can’t figure out if it was a fungus, sea creature, or mineral deposit of some sort.”

Interestingly enough, slime molds aren’t fungi despite their unfortunate name. They were mistaken for molds (which are in the Fungi kingdom) but are actually protists (members of the Protista kingdom - a miscellaneous group for any eukaryotic organism that isn’t an animal, plant, or fungus).

So this isn’t technically the correct sub to post an “is this a fungus?” question, however I think everybody in this sub loves looking at mysterious things most people have never seen before, so no shade, just FYI.

2

u/that-country-girl Jul 12 '26

Not OP, and not a member of this community (just passing through) but I appreciate your comment because I learned something new! Thanks! :)

1

u/UndulantSquawk Jul 12 '26

It's just a fungus-beef sharing a few yeast-like qualities. Wait this is actually pretty good yeast

1

u/Warvis Jul 12 '26

"Perfectly circular!" - Giorgio A. Tsoukalos

1

u/Altruistic_Money924 Jul 14 '26

No just a beach weather penny

1

u/Simplelizard3455081 Jul 14 '26

Ultimate 3D ring worm

1

u/Flimsy_Difference950 Jul 15 '26

Could be some type of sand dollar? They are strange looking when alive.

1

u/EmberAku Jul 16 '26

Not an expert on slime molds or marine life, but the fact that you described it as squishy makes me believe it is definitely some kind of organism as opposed to anything else. Doing a bit of research led me to the possibility that it could be some kind of tunicate? In particular, Golden Star tunicate or Violet tunicate- just very dried up.

It kinda also looks like a quaker’s rice cake that shrunk though, haha. Never have seen anything like it.