New Species of Truffles Discovered Thanks to Mushroom-Munching Bonobos

Truffles are edible fungi like mushrooms, but they grow underground near tree roots and costs insanely expensive, as much as thousands of dollars per pound.

They are costly because they are also hard to find and to grow. Truffles are also difficult to store for any length of time because they lose their aroma only after a week. Its size could range from strawberry-size to an apple-sized, although there are larger truffles that were discovered.

Truffles are found in many parts of the world, but the prestige truffles come from specific areas in Europe and California. But a new species of truffles have been discovered in the Dominican Republic of the Congo, thanks to the mushroom-munching bonobos.

New Species of Truffles

A new species of truffles were found in Congo called Hysterangium bonobos, commonly used to bait traps for small mammals and as food for bonobos, an endangered species of great ape. According to scientists, there is a possibility that truffles are abundant in the region.

Matthew Smith, an associate professor at the University of Florida department of plant pathology and curator of the UF fungal herbarium, said that there is so much to learn about this new species of truffles. Experts are only scratching the surface.

Truffles are considered to be an ecosystem linchpin, especially to animals. The new species of truffles play an essential role in enabling trees to absorb nutrients from the soil and support the diet of animals. Its irregularly-shaped outer layer is lined with microscopic crystal-encrusted filaments responsible for its aroma diffusion and a defense mechanism.

Mushroom-Munching Bonobos

Bonobo is the first species identified to eat truffles. Although H. bonobo may seem to be a new species to science, they are known locally as "simbokilo," which is a Bantu name that is roughly translated as "Don't let your brother-in-law leave because traps baited with this will bring in plenty of food."

According to Smith, the bonobos likely locate the truffles by catching their smell wafting in the air or by digging the soil and sniffing the soil to check if they have found a truffle. These truffles are small enough to be eaten whole, and its microscopic spores are coated with thick cell walls as they go through inside the digestive tract of bonobos.

Moreover, Smith also said that these truffles share the same characteristics as those truffles with high culinary value, although little is known yet of their species.

Alexander Georgiev, study co-author and a primatologist at Bangor University in Wales, said that they could collect samples of the H. bonobo after observing some wild bonobos eating them in Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in Congo. He said that he never saw bonobos eat mushrooms before, but with the help from field assistants, they could track them and instantly knew what was going on upon seeing the bonobos.

The study was published in the journal Mycologia.

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