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SECOND PART
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THE GIANT MUSHROOMS THAT RULED THE EARTH
When Fungi Towered Over the Land – The Story of Prototaxites
Long before the first tree unfurled its leaves… before the earliest dinosaurs took a step… the Earth’s landscapes were ruled by silent giants.
Between 420 and 370 million years ago, in the Devonian period, enormous fungi called Prototaxites rose up from the ground like alien towers. Some stood nearly 8 meters (26 feet) tall and about 1 meter (3 feet) wide — an astonishing size for a fungus.
A World Without Trees
Back then, the Earth looked nothing like it does today. The land was mostly barren, dotted with small mosses, liverworts, and tiny vascular plants. No flowers, no forests. Rivers meandered through rocky plains. Against this low green carpet, Prototaxites stood like monoliths — visible from far away, the tallest living things on land.
A Mystery for 150 Years
Fossils of Prototaxites were first described in the mid-19th century. For decades, scientists couldn’t agree on what they were:
A tree trunk?
A giant alga?
A rolled-up mat of liverworts?
It wasn’t until 2007 that a University of Chicago research team, using chemical isotope analysis, confirmed their fungal identity. The isotopic composition showed they fed like fungi, breaking down organic matter rather than producing their own food through photosynthesis.
Life in the Shadow of Mushrooms
With little competition, Prototaxites likely played a central role in early terrestrial ecosystems:
Acting as decomposers, recycling nutrients into the soil.
Providing shelter for primitive arthropods like millipedes and early insects.
Possibly influencing climate by helping organic carbon return to the atmosphere.
Imagine a Devonian plain: ankle-high mosses, streams weaving through, and here and there — these strange, towering, column-like mushrooms dominating the horizon.
Why They Disappeared
As plants evolved into towering trees and complex forests appeared around 370 million years ago, Prototaxites slowly vanished from the fossil record. Their ecological niche likely disappeared when competition for sunlight and space increased.
A Humbling Reminder
The reign of Prototaxites reminds us that the “normal” landscapes we take for granted are only temporary chapters in Earth’s vast story. There was a time when mushrooms were the skyscrapers of the land — a reality stranger than science fiction.
Recent Research Adds a New Twist
While the 2007 University of Chicago study strongly pointed to a fungal identity, a 2025 investigation into Prototaxites taiti fossils revealed no chitin—as you’d expect in fungi—but instead detected lignin-like compounds, which are more typical of plants. This suggests these prehistoric giants may represent an extinct and previously unknown lineage of multicellular life .
“From towering fungi to possibly an extinct experiment in multicellular life, Prototaxites remains Earth’s most enigmatic skyscraper—gone, but never forgotten.”
📜 Source Highlights:
Boyce, C.K. et al., University of Chicago, 2007 – Isotopic analysis confirming fungal nature.
Hueber, F.M., Smithsonian Institution, 2001 – Detailed fossil descriptions.
Selosse, M.A., Strullu-Derrien, C., 2015 – Discussion of fungi in early ecosystems.
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