Thursday, April 26, 2007

There's A Fungus Among Us

Mystery fossil turns out to be giant fungus

What Prototaxites might have looked like in their prehistoric landscapeScientists have identified the Godzilla of fungi - a giant, prehistoric fossil that has evaded classification for more than a century.

A chemical analysis has shown that the 6-metre-tall organism with a tree-like trunk was a fungus that became extinct more than 350 million years ago.

Known as Prototaxites, the giant fungus has intrigued scientists, who originally thought it was a conifer.

A Prototaxite fossil
Link New Scientist

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