WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microfossils of a globular spore connected to a T-shaped filament excavated in an Arctic region of northwestern Canada represent the oldest-known fungus, a discovery that sheds light on the origins of an important branch in Earth's tree of life.
Scientists said on Wednesday the multicellular fungus that they named Ourasphaira giraldae - forerunner to an immensely diverse group that today includes the likes of mushrooms, yeasts and molds - lived in an estuary environment about 900 million to 1 billion years ago. Until now, the oldest-known fungus fossil was one about 410 million years old from Scotland.