parent_taxon pseudocolus
A genus ( genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology . In the hierarchy of biological classification , genus comes above species and below family . In binomial nomenclature , the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus . Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . It is the world ' s sixth - largest country by total ___MASK45___ . The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea , Indonesia and East Timor to the north ; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north - east ; and New Zealand to the south - east . Australia ' s capital is Canberra , and its largest urban ___MASK45___ is Sydney . Gleba is the fleshy spore - bearing inner mass of certain ___MASK17___ such as the puffball or stinkhorn . In biology , an organism is any contiguous living system , such as an ___MASK31___ , plant , fungus , archaeon , or bacterium . All known types of organisms are capable of some degree of response to stimuli , reproduction , growth and development and homeostasis . An organism consists of one or more cells ; when it has one cell it is known as a unicellular organism ; and when it has more than one it is known as a multicellular organism . Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic scale and are thus loosely described as microorganisms . Humans are multicellular organisms composed of many trillions of cells grouped into specialized tissues and organs . ___MASK70___ is a family of fungi , commonly known as stinkhorn mushrooms , within the order Phallales . Stinkhorns have a worldwide distribution , but are especially prevalent in tropical regions . They are known for their foul - smelling , sticky spore masses , or gleba , borne on the end of a stalk called the receptaculum . The characteristic fruiting - body structure , a single , unbranched receptaculum with an externally attached gleba on the upper part , distinguishes the ___MASK70___ from other families in the Phalalles . The spore mass typically smells of carrion or dung , and attracts flies and other insects to help disperse the spores . Although there is great diversity in body structure shape among the various genera , all species in the ___MASK70___ begin their development as oval or round structures known as " eggs ". According to a 2008 estimate , the family contains 21 genera and 77 species . ___MASK38___ fusiformis is a stinkhorn mushroom in the ___MASK70___ , a family well known for a remarkable range of fruit body types . It is the most widely distributed member of the genus " ___MASK38___ " and has been found in the United States , Australia , Japan , Java , and the Philippines . It is commonly known as the stinky squid , because of its fetid odor , and its three or four upright " arms " which are connected at the top . The malodorous smell comes from the dark greenish slimy gleba covering the inside faces of the arms , and attracts insects that help to disperse the spores . Binomial nomenclature ( also called binominal nomenclature or binary nomenclature ) is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts , both of which use Latin grammatical forms , although they can be based on words from other languages . Such a name is called a binomial name ( which may be shortened to just " binomial "), a binomen or a scientific name ; more informally it is also called a Latin name . The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs ; the second part identifies the species within the genus . For example , humans belong to the genus " ___MASK46___ " and within this genus to the species " ___MASK46___ sapiens ". The " formal " introduction of this system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus , effectively beginning with his work " Species Plantarum " in 1753 . But Gaspard Bauhin , in as early as 1623 , had introduced in his book " Pinax theatri botanici " ( English , " Illustrated exposition of plants ") many names of genera that were later adopted by Linnaeus . A puffball is a member of any of several groups of ___MASK17___ in the division ___MASK68___ . The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae , but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage . The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore - bearing gills . Instead , spores are produced internally , in a spheroidal fruitbody called a gasterothecium ( gasteroid (' stomach - like ') basidiocarp ). As the spores mature , they form a mass called a gleba in the centre of the fruitbody that is often of a distinctive color and texture . The basidiocarp remains closed until after the spores have been released from the basidia . Eventually , it develops an aperture , or dries , becomes brittle , and splits , and the spores escape . The spores of puffballs are statismospores rather than ballistospores , meaning they are not actively shot off the basidium . The ___MASK17___ are called puffballs because clouds of brown dust - like spores are emitted when the mature fruitbody bursts , or in response to impacts such as those of falling raindrops . Puffballs and similar forms are thought to have evolved convergently ( that is , in numerous independent events ) from Hymenomycetes by " gasteromycetation ", through secotioid stages . Thus , ' Gasteromycetes ' and ' Gasteromycetidae ' are now considered to be descriptive , morphological terms ( more properly " gasteroid " or " gasteromycetes ", to avoid taxonomic implications ) but not valid cladistic terms . ___MASK38___ is a genus of ___MASK17___ in the stinkhorn family . The fruit bodies have three or four simple arms that are initially joined at the tip , but often break apart . The tips of the arms are covered with a slimy , foul - smelling gleba , which attracts insects that help disperse the spores . The genus contains three species : the type ___MASK38___ fusiformis , P . garciae , similar in appearance to the type but with a pinkish to red , rather than orange color , and P . grandis , found in India .