Chinese researchers found a fungus species growing 20 inches tall and weighing five pounds — the largest of its kind. Its lineage traces back to just after the dinosaur extinction 65 million years ago.
This fossil-free genetic clock shows how the dinosaur extinction opened ecological space for fungi to evolve giant forms. Since fungi recycle nutrients that all plants need, tracing their post-extinction diversification helps us understand how modern ecosystems rebuilt themselves from the ground up.
✦ A fungus the size of a toddler carries DNA from the world that rose after dinosaurs fell.