10 Differences between Fungi and Animals (Fungi vs Animals)

Fungus vs Animals

Fungi are microscopic or macroscopic, non-chlorophyllated, spore bearing, filamentous, heterotrophic thallophytes which reproduce asexually and sexually

 Animals are eukaryotic living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.

Molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that fungi are more closely related to animals than plants

Fungus	Animals
Fungal cell has a rigid cell wall made up of chitin	Animal cells lack cell wall
• In Fungus, mode of nutrition is Heterotrophic and absorptive •      Secrete digestive enzymes •      Feed by absorption in soluble form •      Saprotrophic, parasitic or symbiotic	•      In animals, mode of nutrition is Heterotrophic and holozoic •      Feed by ingesting solid food materials which is then internally digested and absorbed into their bodies
Fungus don’t move around	All animals can move at least during some stage of their life cycle
Fungal thallus is generally multi cellular, with filaments called hyphae and network of these filaments makes mycelium (Exception: Yeast is a unicellular fungus)	The body is multi-cellular, well differentiated into tissues, organs and organ system
Fungi like plants are comparatively slow in response and can sense environmental signals and react accordingly, changing their development, direction of growth, and metabolism	Animals are capable of responding quickly to external stimuli as a result of nerve cells, muscle or contractile tissue, or both.
Reproduce both sexually and asexually Asexual spores include zoospores, conidia etc	Generally reproduce sexually, involves two individuals contributing genetic material to produce offspring
Comparatively complex life cycle. In the life cycle of a sexually reproducing fungus, a haploid phase alternates with a diploid phase.	Comparatively simple life cycle. Diploid adults undergo meiosis to produce sperm or eggs. Fertilization occurs when a sperm and an egg fuse. The zygote that forms develops into an embryo. The embryo eventually develops into an adult.
Dikaryotic phase is very common (presence of two nuclei of opposite mating strains without fusion) and even dominant phase in many fungal groups like Basidiomycetes	Dikaryotic phase is absent
Most fungus has haploid dominant life cycle with an long dikaryotic phase	Animals has diploid dominant life cycle with haploid phase only in gametes
Example: Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)	Humans (Homo sapiens), Rat, parrot, fish