Coprinus Pers.
(inkcaps)

Subtaxon	Rank	Featured subtaxa	No of images	No of ID refs
Coprinus comatus Shaggy Inkcap, Lawyer’s Wig	Species		17 images	2 ident. refs
Coprinus ephemeroides Diaphanous Inkcap	Species		12 images
Coprinus filiformis a fungus	Species			1 ident. refs
Coprinus foetidellus an inkcap	Species		16 images	1 ident. refs
Coprinus griseofoetidus an inkcap	Species			1 ident. refs
Coprinus nemoralis an inkcap	Species			1 ident. refs
Coprinus plicatilis agg. pleated inkcaps	Species aggregate	2 subtaxa	16 images
Coprinus sterquilinus Midden Inkcap	Species			1 ident. refs
Coprinus (unidentified) Unidentified Inkcaps	Unidentified		6 images

Taxonomic hierarchy:

Genus	Coprinus (inkcaps)
Family	AGARICACEAE (mushrooms, dapperlings and parasols, puffballs and bird’s-nests)
Order	AGARICALES (mushrooms and toadstools)
Subclass	AGARICOMYCETIDAE (a subclass of basidiomycetes)
Class	AGARICOMYCETES (a class of fungi)
Subphylum	AGARICOMYCOTINA (a subphylum of fungi)
Phylum	BASIDIOMYCOTA (spore droppers, basidiomycetes)
Kingdom	FUNGI (true fungi)
Domain	Eukaryota (eukaryotes)
Life	BIOTA (living things)

Coprinus is also a member of:
Macromycetes - larger fungi, macrofungi (via Agaricales)
Fungi s.l. - fungi (in the broad sense) (via Fungi)
Lower Plants - lower plants (via Fungi s.l.)

Identification Works

Author	Year	Title	Source
Orton, P.D. & Watling, R.	1979	Coprinaceae: Coprinus	British Fungus Flora, Vol 2, 149pp, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office
Orton, P.D.	1976	Notes on British Agarics VI	Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Vol 35 No 1: 147-154.
Orton, P.D.	1976	Notes on British Agarics VI	Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Vol 35 No 1: 147-154.
Orton, P.D.	1972	Notes on British Agarics IV	Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Vol 32, No 1: 135-150.
Orton, P.D.	1957	Notes on British Agarics 1-5 (Observations on the genus Coprinus)	TBMS Vol 40 (2): 263-276.
Schafer, D.J.	2010	Keys to sections of Parasola, Coprinellus, Coprinopsis and Coprinus in Britain	Field Mycology Vol 11 (2): 44-51, rear cover.
Uljé, C.B.		Genus Coprinus Pers.	Arnolds, E. Genus Conocybe Fay., 60pp, Flora Agaricina Neerlandica 6
Uljé, K.		Studies in Coprinus	www.grzyby.pl/coprinus-site-Kees-Uljee/cindex.htm

Coprinus (inkcaps) may also be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

AGARICACEAE
(mushrooms, dapperlings and parasols, puffballs and bird’s-nests)

AGARICALES
(mushrooms and toadstools)

AGARICOMYCETIDAE
(a subclass of basidiomycetes)

AGARICOMYCETES
(a class of fungi)

BASIDIOMYCOTA
(spore droppers, basidiomycetes)

FUNGI
(true fungi)

Eukaryota
(eukaryotes)

BIOTA
(living things)

Macromycetes
(larger fungi, macrofungi)

Fungi s.l.
(fungi (in the broad sense))

NBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Coprinus (inkcaps)

BioInfo (www.bioinfo.org.uk) has 10 host/parasite/foodplant and/or other relationships for Coprinus (inkcaps)

The Inkcap toadstools are so-called because the black-spored gills, and often the caps too, liquify into an ink-like liquid. However, this has an ecological purpose: many of the species grow on transient substrates (eg dung) often with short-lived fruitbodies. The cap and gills liquify to rapidly dispose of the gill material and allow all the spores to be quickly released into the air. In the dung species the spores often have to survive on nearby grass until eaten by a herbivore. The spores are black because they are protected by thick heavily-pigmented walls.

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Taxonomic hierarchy:

Coprinus is also a member of:

Identification Works

BioImages - Virtual Field-Guide (UK)