Lepidoderma crustaceum, a nivicolous myxomycete, found on the island of Crete

The rare myxomycete Lepidoderma crustaceum Kowalski, recorded from only a f ew localities in the world, was found in a nivicolous situation in the Whit e Mountains (Lefka Ori) in western Crete. The specimen is described, and sc anning electron photographs are presented. Characters for differentiation b etween this species and the closely related L. aggregatum Kowalski are give n. Although difficult to estimate due to the usually large annual fluctuati ons in abundance of nivicolous myxomycetes, devastation of the plant cover by overgrazing as well as a tendency towards lower winter rainfalls may det eriorate their growth conditions at the island of Crete.