When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A painting of what Prototaxites may have looked like, 400 million years ago. | Credit: Painting ...

Prototaxites, the mysterious ancient organisms, are changing our understanding of early Earth. Sporting a unique, tube-like structure, these organisms attained heights of 26 feet roughly 430 million ...

The affinities of Prototaxites have been debated ever since its fossils, some attaining tree-trunk proportions, were discovered in Canadian Lower Devonian rocks in 1859. Putative assignations include ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. A new study claims that Prototaxites, which have defied ...

An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say. When you purchase through links on our site, ...

A weird tree-like organism that went extinct 350 million years ago may really be a giant fungus, say researchers. They are using chemistry to solve a nagging 148-year-old mystery of a fossil called ...

Scientists have discovered a fossil that appears to belong to an unknown species. Found in a remote location, this fossil doesn’t match any previously identified life forms. Recent studies of ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A giant mystery organism more than 350 million years old has finally been identified as a ...

An unlikely group of pioneers ultimately made life on land possible -- the fungi. 420 million years ago, a giant feasted on the dead, growing slowly into the largest living thing on land. It belonged ...

An illustration of Prototaxites in the early Devonian landscape, roughly 400 million years ago. Painting by Mary Parrish, National Museum of Natural History via University of New Hampshire When land ...