Back Prototaxites Czech Prototaxites German Prototaxites EO Prototaxites Spanish Prototaksiitit Finnish Prototaxites French Prototaxites ID プロトタキシーテス Japanese prototaksitizi JBO Prototaxites LMO
| Prototaxites Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Branching apex of P. loganii, "Schunnemunk tree" | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Stem group: | Ascomycota |
| Family: | †Prototaxitaceae Hueber |
| Genus: | †Prototaxites Dawson 1859 |
| Type species | |
| Prototaxites loganii Dawson, 1859
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| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Prototaxites /ˌproʊtoʊˈtæksɪtiːz/ is an extinct genus of terrestrial fungi dating from the Late Silurian until the Late Devonian periods.[1][2] Prototaxites formed large trunk-like structures up to 1 metre (3 ft) wide, reaching 8 metres (26 ft) in length,[3] made up of interwoven tubes around 50 micrometres (0.0020 in) in diameter, making it by far the largest land-dwelling organism of its time.
The taxonomy of Prototaxites has long been the subject of debate. It is widely considered a fungus, but the debate is ongoing.[3] Its exact relationship with extant fungus lineages is uncertain. It was almost certainly a perennial organism that grew over multiple years. Several ecologies have been proposed, including that it was saprotrophic like many modern fungi, or that it was a lichenised autotroph.[1]
- ^ a b Nelsen, Matthew P.; Boyce, C. Kevin (2022-07-01). "What to Do with Prototaxites ?". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 183 (6): 556–565. doi:10.1086/720688. ISSN 1058-5893. S2CID 249145404.
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