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Scientists baffled at mysterious ancient creature that doesn't fit on the tree of life as we know it
2025-04-19 08:45:03| Spiritual Career Counseling
A bizarre ancient life-form, considered to be the first giant organism to live on land, may belong to a totally unknown branch of the tree of life, scientists say.These organisms, named Prototaxites, lived around 420 million to 375 million years ago during the Devonian period and resembled branchless, cylindrical tree trunks. These organisms would have been massive, with some species growing up to 26 feet (8 meters) tall and 3 feet (1 meter) wide.Since the first Prototaxites fossil was discovered in 1843, scientists haven't been sure whether they were a plant, fungus or even a type of algae. However, chemical analyses of Prototaxites fossils in 2007 suggested they were likely a giant ancient fungus.Now, according to a paper published March 17 on the preprint server bioRxiv, Prototaxites might not have been a humongous fungus after all rather, it may have been an entirely different and previously unknown life-form. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.All life on Earth is classifi... [ more ]
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