Prototaxites: the first conquerors of the earth's firmament (7 photos)

These amazing creatures began to conquer land long before plants. Just some fingers of God, since the pioneers were mushrooms about 8 meters high.





The first assumption about the existence of prototaxites was made by botanist John Dawson in 1859. The first discoveries date back to the Devonian period, when plants already existed. Therefore, they were not given due attention, being considered simply the ancestors of modern conifers.



But subsequently, the famous paleobotanist Francis Huber suggested that these were mushrooms. He studied the composition of the fossils to determine the mysterious creature's feeding method.





The fact is that plants that consume carbon dioxide and solar energy have a clear chemical signature and are based on two isotopes of carbon. For others - mammals and the same mushrooms, whose food is already more complex and varied - the ratio is different. Isotope analysis confirmed the relationship of prototaxites with modern fungi.

To feed multi-meter fruiting bodies, solid mycelium was needed. And something like it was discovered in Early Devonian deposits.



Colleagues were skeptical of Huber's research and its results, published in 2007. And they can be understood, because how much organic matter is needed to feed such a giant? But the researcher did not pay attention to the criticism and continued to work. He studied various fossil samples and discovered that inside the prototaxites were a system of very thin intertwined tubes. Something similar is found in lichens and algae, but still this system is especially characteristic of fungi.





But why were the mushrooms so huge? After all, to maintain the life of such a large object, a huge amount of nutrients is needed. The exact answer is unknown, but there are two main versions. According to the first, such sizes were the result of evolutionary tactics - the larger the mushroom, the more spores it can spread. Given the altitude, spores can be carried by wind over considerable distances.



The second version is quite bloodthirsty, but also has a right to exist. Prototaxites, due to their size, tried to squeeze out competitors from the territory - herbivorous organisms in their then form. The idea failed, and the giant mushrooms disappeared. Perhaps due to climate change, plants, as well as the increased number of animals that ate these giants.