Neocallimastix patriciarum

Neocallimastix patriciarum is a species of fungus that lives in the rumen of sheep and other ruminant species. N. patriciarum is an obligate anaerobe and is an important component of the microbial population within the rumen. Only one of a few rumen fungi, this species is interesting and unique within the fungal world. Originally thought to be a flagellate protists, species within the phylum Neocallimastigomycota were first recognized as a fungus by Colin Orpin in 1975 when he demonstrated that they had cell walls of chitin