The world's tallest fungus, according to a new paper, was the giant Prototaxites, which towered over the Silurian and Devonian landscapes from around 350 to 420 million years ago.
Fossils for the over 26-foot-tall giant have led to scientific debate over the years, with some experts believing it was a huge plant, algae or lichen. The new study, however, published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B, presents evidence that it was a fungus that likely derived at least some of its hefty nutrition load from bacteria, algae and moss.
Eeewww.
Cool! “Surprisingly like a familiar man-made structure” is kind of stretching it a little thin though. The artist who painted the picture apparently did not get the memo as his prototaxites look nothing like telephone poles.