On a hike around Emma Matilda Lake, where fields of wildflowers foreground the Tetons bursting skyward in the distance, it was the discovery of something tiny on the forest floor that struck Chris Rynders with awe. 

“It was in the shade of a pine tree, a white shell caught my eye,” Rynders said. “I picked it up to get a closer look and then saw the totally unexpected with what looked like a whole world existing on the shell.”

Myxomycetes had fused to the husk of a deceased snail, feeling stiff to the touch. Yet, the organism’s common name is slime mold, because it appears more gelatinous during other parts of its life cycle. 

WyoFile’s Tennessee Watson is married to Chris Rynders. —Ed.

Tennessee Jane Watson is WyoFile's deputy managing editor. She was a 2020 Nieman Abrams Fellow for Local Investigative Journalism and Wyoming Public Radio's education reporter. She lives in Laramie. Contact...

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  1. Some of the best years of my life were spent skiing at Happy Jack, drinking beer at the Buck…and studying slime molds. These are some of the most amazing (and ubiquitous) organisms on our planet. For anyone who wants to go down an amoebic rabbit hole, there’s a great article in this past May’s National Geographic on slime molds. Enjoy!

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