this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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Archaeology

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Archaeology or archeology[a] is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes.

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182
Scientists have confirmed that a 26ft tall, tree-trunk-shaped organism, first discovered in Scotland in 1843, isn't a fungus or plant, but an entirely distinct evolutionary branch of life (www.telegraph.co.uk)
submitted 4 days ago by Innerworld@lemmy.world to c/archaeology@mander.xyz
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[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 60 points 4 days ago (3 children)

But new research from the University of Edinburgh and National Museums Scotland has shown the fossil is neither fungus nor plant, but a new lifeform that became extinct around 370 million years ago.

Sandy Hetherington, the lead co-author and research associate at National Museums Scotland, said: β€œThey are life, but not as we now know it, displaying anatomical and chemical characteristics distinct from fungal or plant life, and therefore belonging to an entirely extinct evolutionary branch of life.”

[–] Aussieiuszko@aussie.zone 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It’s life Jim, but not as we know it

[–] fartographer@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

There's Klingons on the starboard bow

[–] TwodogsFighting@lemdro.id 3 points 3 days ago

Starboard bow, Jim!

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

an entirely extinct evolutionary branch of life

Pardon my ignorance, I seem to have misunderstood the meaning of "extinct" (?).

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 33 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

It's a fossil. Really should be part of the headline.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

Oooh, okay yeah.

Man, what I wouldn't give to time travel back millions of years and just have a glance through the window of a pod, to see what it would be like to live here for a day back then.

[–] cryptTurtle@piefed.social 43 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Wiki has a breakdown of the debate and how it's evolved: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototaxites

Neat stuff

[–] calliope@retrolemmy.com 13 points 4 days ago (2 children)

This has absolutely blown my mind!

This looks exactly like the kind of whose ancestors would, over millions of years, eventually mutate to become a tree.

The polished fossil in the Wikipedia article looks a shocking amount like wood!

[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

Dude; I think you're absolutely correct.

It looks like a proto-tree

Also: Trees aren't a uniform genus, but this goes to show, on any planet that has photosynthesis, trees will eventually evolve spontaneously

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 3 points 3 days ago

there were "trees" before actual trees evolved. in the carbiniferous, mostly from lycophytes,

[–] Phoenix3875@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

One of the linked papers thinks it's actually horizontal rather vertical, as people have guessed originally.

[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Spooky phallus.

[–] Triumph@fedia.io 3 points 4 days ago

That doesn't narrow it down.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

My guess is that it's a relative of red algae and plants/Viridiplantae, but not quite either.

At least one source mentions it produces lignin or something similar; lignin is present in both clades I mentioned. However since it doesn't do photosynthesis we can rule out belonging to those clades, I genuinely don't think evolution would favour ditching phycoerythrin or chlorophyll, so odds are it never developed either.

[–] doubtingtammy@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

However since it doesn’t do photosynthesis we can rule out belonging to those clades,

There are plants and algae that don't do photosynthesis (although I think they still have vestigial chloroplast?)

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Non-photosynthetic plants (like ghost pipes) are typically rather small parasites of other plants, that for some reason lost access to good sunlight (such as being so deep in a forest that other plants call dibs on those yummy photons). I don't see how it would be the case here, given the fossil in question is 8m tall, and apparently it predates actual (Viridiplantae) trees. And I think the same reasoning applies to a potential Rhodophyta = red alga.

Because of that I think it's way more likely the taxon in question is related to both, but part of neither. And the reason it's heterotrophic (as per Wiki article) is because it never developed something similar to photosynthesis on first place.

In fact the size is bugging me. Why did it grow so big? Plants usually do this because they're trying to outcompete other plants, but that doesn't make sense here.

[–] Zacryon@feddit.org 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

About 7,9248 m (decimal comma)

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 5 points 4 days ago

Decimal commas are a lie to cover up that they found Yggdrasil

[–] Laukidh@infosec.exchange 9 points 4 days ago

@Innerworld β€œSandy Hetherington, the lead co-author and research associate at National Museums Scotland, said: β€œThey are life, but not as we now know it”

https://youtu.be/FCARADb9asE

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 4 points 4 days ago

https://archive.ph/LEcGT