Scientists have discovered traces of an unknown extinct life form on Earth

We are talking about Prototaxites, giant ancient organisms that more than 400 million years ago towered over the first terrestrial ecosystems, reaching heights of up to 8 metres.

Prototaxites looked like massive smooth poles without branches, leaves or flowers. Unlike trees, they did not have a complete root system - presumably they were held in the soil by a thickened base. Since the discovery of their fossilised remains in the 19th century, scientists have debated whether they were giant fungi, algae or unusual plants.

A new study published in the journal Science Advances suggests a radically different answer. According to the authors of the work, prototaxites represented a separate, previously unknown and now completely extinct branch of life.

How the ancient organism was studied

The scientists examined a specimen of the Prototaxites taiti species found in the famous Reaney flint deposits in north-east Scotland. This palaeontological site is known for its exceptional preservation of ancient plants, fungi and animals.

Using laser scanning and three-dimensional visualisation, the researchers studied the internal structure of the fossil and compared its chemical composition with other organisms from the same layer of rock. The analysis revealed several key differences.

The internal anatomy of prototaxites consisted of intertwined tubes of three different types, connected in dense and extremely complex knots. This structure differs significantly from fungi, which have simpler networks of filaments - hyphae.

The team used artificial intelligence techniques to study the chemical fingerprint of the organism. Usually in fossil mushrooms is detected in the protein chitin, but in the sample Prototaxites taiti it was completely absent. Moreover, the algorithms were unable to match its chemical composition to any known living organisms.

A lost branch of eukaryotes

Based on the totality of the data, the scientists ruled out the prototaxites belonging to fungi or plants. In the article, the authors conclude that these giants were representatives of a separate line of eukaryotes - organisms with a complex cellular structure, which has no modern descendants.

The researchers note that their findings undermine the hypothesis of the fungal nature of prototaxites and support the idea that there was a previously undescribed branch of life that disappeared during evolution.

Although the new work could be the key to years of scientific debate, the authors emphasise: for the final conclusions will require additional research and new findings.