Humungous Fungus
By Hannah Isom
A 150-year argument about the identity of a gigantic prehistoric organism has finally been resolved with the revelation that it was in fact a massive mushroom. The humungous fungus had baffled scientists and caused many arguments within the scientific community. Until now, that is.
The mystery organism, called Prototaxites, was first identified in 1859, by Canadian palaeontologist Charles Dawson, following the discovery of its fossilised remains. The tree-like fungus stood over 20 feet tall, making it the largest living organism at the time that it existed - between 420 and 350 million years ago.
This period of history spanned the Silurian and Devonian periods. As you can imagine, the world was a pretty dull place back then. The only other things alive at this time were a few worms, millipedes and some simple ferns, so it’s no wonder that Prototaxities is classed as “one of the weirdest organisms that ever lived”.
Mould may not float everyone’s investigational boat, but over the years the mystery of Prototaxities’ identity has been a hotbed for debate. Prototaxites was originally classified as a conifer, a lichen, and even a type of algae, before folks from the Natural History Museum in Washington DC and the University of Chicago found anatomical evidence that it was indeed a fungus.
The team, lead by Kevin Boyce (a really fun-guy) made their discovery by analysing the carbon contained within Prototaxities and comparing it to that found in plants that lived at the same time.
Whereas plants get their energy from photosynthesis – turning sunshine and air into food – fungi get their nutrients by decomposing organic matter. This means that the types of carbon found in different plants are all pretty much the same. But a fungus will contain all sorts of carbon, from whatever it may have absorbed for breakfast that morning. In other words, if you’re a fungus, you are what you eat.
More from Hannah, less about mushrooms, by clicking here.
If you liked this, get stuck into:
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- Spoof - Magic Mushrooms
- Buy - Giant cuddly microbes
- Straight - Trouble in the mushroom field
The mystery organism, called Prototaxites, was first identified in 1859, by Canadian palaeontologist Charles Dawson, following the discovery of its fossilised remains. The tree-like fungus stood over 20 feet tall, making it the largest living organism at the time that it existed - between 420 and 350 million years ago.
This period of history spanned the Silurian and Devonian periods. As you can imagine, the world was a pretty dull place back then. The only other things alive at this time were a few worms, millipedes and some simple ferns, so it’s no wonder that Prototaxities is classed as “one of the weirdest organisms that ever lived”.
Mould may not float everyone’s investigational boat, but over the years the mystery of Prototaxities’ identity has been a hotbed for debate. Prototaxites was originally classified as a conifer, a lichen, and even a type of algae, before folks from the Natural History Museum in Washington DC and the University of Chicago found anatomical evidence that it was indeed a fungus.
The team, lead by Kevin Boyce (a really fun-guy) made their discovery by analysing the carbon contained within Prototaxities and comparing it to that found in plants that lived at the same time.
Whereas plants get their energy from photosynthesis – turning sunshine and air into food – fungi get their nutrients by decomposing organic matter. This means that the types of carbon found in different plants are all pretty much the same. But a fungus will contain all sorts of carbon, from whatever it may have absorbed for breakfast that morning. In other words, if you’re a fungus, you are what you eat.
More from Hannah, less about mushrooms, by clicking here.
If you liked this, get stuck into:
- News - More giant oddities
- Spoof - Magic Mushrooms
- Buy - Giant cuddly microbes
- Straight - Trouble in the mushroom field
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