Bizarre fossil may have been an entirely new type of life

image via New Scientist

March 21, 2025, 3:00 PM

• •Prototaxites was a giant terrestrial organism that lived between 420 million and 375 million years ago.
• •It was previously thought to be a giant fungus, but new chemical analysis suggests it may be a new branch of the tree of life.
• •The discovery could help us to understand how life evolved on Earth.

A bizarre ancient organism previously thought to be a giant fungus may actually belong to an undiscovered branch of the tree of life that mysteriously went extinct. Prototaxites, which lived between 420 million and 375 million years ago, was the first giant terrestrial life form to inhabit Earth. It grew trunk-like structures up to 8 metres tall and 1 metre wide.

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