Serpula himantioides Serpula himantioides Serpula himantioides is a species of fungus that causes damage to timber referred to as dry rot. It is a basidiomycete in the order Boletales. It has been found on all continents except for Antarctica. Recent molecular work demonstrates that "S. himantioides" is a species complex including multiple cryptic lineages. The fungus was first described in 1818 by Elias Magnus Fries as "Merulius himantioides". Petter Karsten transferred it to the genus "Serpula" in 1884. "Serpula himantioides" is a fungal pathogen within the division Basidiomycota. It produces thin, resupinate (inverted), membranous fan-like basidiocarps that are brownish in color and
Serpula vermicularis divided into two. The yellow-coloured body has seven thoracic segments and up to 190 abdominal segments which are protected by the tube. At least four segments with setae (bristles) are found in the thoracic region. "Serpula vermicularis" is cosmopolitan in distribution. It is found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the European seaboard of the Atlantic Ocean, but not on the North American coast. It occurs in the intertidal zone and at depths down to . Also along Southern African coast from Olifant's River to Maputo. "Serpula vermicularis" grows on hard substrates. It favours shells of bivalves, boulders and