Estonians invited to name 20 slime mould species in Estonian

The Estonian University of Life Sciences is calling on the public to come up with Estonian-language names for 20 species of slime moulds. The university's fungal collection holds over 1,200 slime mould specimens, but only three species currently have Estonian names.

The Estonian University of Life Sciences is inviting the public to get creative and help name 20 species of slime moulds — bizarre organisms that sit somewhere between fungi and animals. The university's fungal collection currently holds more than 1,200 specimens of slime moulds, known scientifically as myxomycetes, yet only three of the species have Estonian-language names.

Those three existing names offer a flavour of what Estonian naturalists have come up with so far: *hundipiim* (wolf's milk), *puugipask* (tree dung), and *limasarvik* (slime antler). Now scientists are hoping that the Estonian public can bring the same inventive spirit to two dozen more species that currently exist only under their Latin scientific designations.

Slime moulds are remarkable organisms that spend part of their life cycle as single-celled amoeba-like creatures before merging into a larger, often brightly coloured mass to reproduce. They are found on rotting wood, leaf litter, and soil across Estonia's forests and have long fascinated naturalists for their alien appearance and complex behaviour.

The naming initiative reflects a broader effort to make natural science more accessible in the Estonian language and to strengthen the country's scientific vocabulary. Participants are encouraged to draw inspiration from the appearance, habitat, or behaviour of each species when proposing a name. Submissions are open to anyone living in Estonia.