Fossils reveal a whole new type of life

A strange giant cylindrical lifeform might not be a fungus after all

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In the natural world, life is divided into several categories: animals, plants, fungi, protists (such as algae or amoebas), bacteria and archaea (microscopic singlecelled organisms). But recent research has suggested this list might not be exhaustive, because of a prehistoric cylindrical lifeform that some UK scientists think belonged to a now-extinct, totally unique branch of the tree of life.

The strange organism in question is called Prototaxites and lived approximately 440-360 million years ago - the period when oxygen from plants and fungi meant Earth started to become habitable for animals.