Prototaxites, the mysterious object that dominated the ground before the trees

About 400 million years ago, Successors up to 8 meters They rose in the primitive landscape from SuperContinente Gondwana. Known as Prototaxites, these configurations They have been a mystery of science since its discovery More than 165 years ago.

A new study, led by Edinburgh University, states this These organisms do not belong to any category of life Currently known.

A puzzle of 400 million years

It was Prototaxites Disciplined by Geological John William Dawson In the fifties of the nineteenth century, in Gasbi Bay, Quebec. Initially, it was interpreted as the remains of the decomposition trees and considered the first Snopur; but, This hypothesis was eliminated After that, since the trees were not present at a time when these living organisms lived.

For decades, multiple classifications were proposed: from primitive plants to algae. In recent years, the most acceptable hypothesis was that it was giant fungi, based on the analysis of carbon counterparts that suggested heterogeneous behavior.

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New tests exclude that they were fungi

The latest study, It was published in the BIORXIV warehouse Currently in reviewing couples, Three fossil analysis is well preserved From Taiti Prototaxites found in Rene Chard, Scotland. Researchers They performed microscopic and chemical analyzes Which revealed several unique characteristics.

At the structural level, The excavations provided complex tubular compositionChews Sprinkle tubes and other curvesEven some with patterns similar to growth rings, which is an absent feature of well -known fungi. As for chemical composition, there are no traces of the two sheets, the main component of the walls of fungal cells.

The researchers also verify that other fossil fossils in the same deposit Yes, keep the Cheetina evidenceWhich enhances the idea Vototaxite fungi was not.

Real extinct lineage?

Moral and molecular tests prompted the team to conclude this Do not fit Prototaxites, any known group. For its structure and feeding, Options such as algae, lanes, or animals have been eliminated.

The proposed hypothesis is that these organisms can represent a Fully extinct proportions of the maximum nucleiWithout known relatives. That is, it can belong to a biological kingdom that has not been described before.

At the present time, life on Earth is divided into three areas (bacteria, arcs and nests), and four great kingdoms are recognized within the real nucleus: animals, plants, fungi and protruders. The possibility that proteins in any of these kingdoms are not a challenge to evolutionary biology.

The control of the Ecological Ecological System

For tens of millions of years, the prototos was the largest structures on the mainland, while the highest plants were barely measured by a few centimeters. His presence indicates that they played an important role in Devonic, although his disappearance did not leave their modern grandchildren.

The result reopens the debate about the evolutionary paths that could have been completely lost. According to the authors of the study, the agency provides “a morphological and molecular imprint that differs from any existing group,” which makes it wisdom to consider it part of an extinct group without current representation.

BGPA