Earth's first large land organisms—tree trunk-like beings that stood up to 26 feet tall—weren't early fungi but, rather, something else entirely, a study suggests

Many researchers suspect that Prototaxites was an early type of fungus. But in a study published January 21 [2026] in the journal Science Advances, a team argues that one species is chemically and structurally distinct from fungi, hinting that the mysterious genus likely represents a previously undiscovered, extinct branch of life.