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Eumycetozoans, commonly referred to as slime moulds, are common to abundant organisms in soils. Three groups of slime moulds (myxogastrids, dictyostelids and protostelids) are recognized, and the first two of these are among the most important bacterivores in the soil microhabitat. The purpose of this paper is first to provide a brief description of all three groups and then to review what is known about their distribution and ecology in soils.