Question

So far 1.5 million species of fungi are identified, in which the number of fungi identified is more than the combined total of
A) Algae, lichens, mosses, and ferns
B) Fishes, amphibians, reptiles and mammals
C) Molluscs and crustaceans
D) Molluscs, fishes and amphibians

Answer 1

Fungi or fungus includes rusts, yeasts, smuts, molds, etc. they can either be free living or in symbiotic relationships with animals or plants or animals.

Complete answer:
Let us first understand characteristics of fungi,
They usually grow as tubular filaments. They may or may not have hyphae or mycelium or both depending on the type of fungi

They disperse as spores with the help of wind
They are heterotrophic
The wall of hyphae is made of chitin
They are eukaryotic
They act as decomposers

->Option a: The estimated amount of each of the following are - algae and lichen together is around 1 million, moses is 10,000 and ferns is 10,000. When added up they are less than the amount of fungi present, i.e.1.5. Therefore, this is the correct option.
->Option b: The estimated amount of each of the following are - fish (20,000), amphibians (4,000), reptiles (10,700), and mammals (130 billion). When added up they are more than the amount of fungi present. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.
->Option c: The estimated amount of each of the following are - mollusca (1.2 million) and crustaceans is 60,000. When added up they are more than the amount of fungi present. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.
->Option d: The estimated amount of each of the following are - mollusca (1.2 million), fish (20,000), and amphibians (4,000). When added up they are more than the amount of fungi present. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Thus, the correct option is (a) Algae, lichens, mosses, and ferns.

Note: The commercial uses of fungi are- they are used in production of vitamins, glycolipids, etc via fermentation, they are a source of food materials, they are used in baking, wine and beer making, etc.