Paleomycology is the study of fossil fungi.
History
Interest in
Fossil fungi dates back to the early nineteenth century, with the first illustrated collection being curated by Luigi Meschinelli in 1898. It focussed on matching fossils to modern fungi.
Historically, however,
Paleoecology tend to place a larger focus on plant and animal macrofossils, partially due to the difficulty and unfamiliarity in identifying fungi physiology and morphology.
Early Discovery
A majority of fossilized fungi remains, such as
Fungal spore and
Sclerotium,
are discovered in
amber.
Two particular discoveries of fossil fungi, one in the Baltic sea dated to the
Eocene and another in the Dominican Republic dated to the
Miocene, are is important for comparison across timescales and for the development of the evolutionary record. A sample of amber from the Baltic site preserved a
Hexapoda and the fungi
Aspergillus collembolorum, which suggests the presence of parasitic relationships as early as 34 million years ago
. Fossil fungi presents indirect evidence of when symbiotic relationships coevolved, such as saprophytism or
commensalism among mycorrhizae or lichen. The presence of wood-rotting fungi in
Archaeopteris, one of the oldest identified trees, suggests that saprophytic interactions between plants and fungi evolved when wood first began to develop.
Ecological Importance
Evolutionary relationships
Fungi require a carbon source for growth and development, which is provided by the decomposition of organic plant and animal matter.
Mycorrhiza relationships between plant and fungi are mutualistic: the fungus gains a carbon source, while the plant receives nutrient minerals. Discovery of fungi in the
Early Devonian Rhynie chert, when plants were root and leafless, suggests that fungi played a large role in the evolution of plant life into terrestrial ecosystems.
Fungal Endophyte and Fungal epiphytes, similarly to mycorrhizae, establish a symbiotic relationship with plant hosts through which they obtain their necessary nutrients, however the lack of fossil endophytes on plant leaves prior to the Cretaceous period suggests that leaves as a fungal habitat were exploited by fungi after flowering plants evolved about 130 million years ago.
Interdisciplinary uses
Fossilized fungal organisms are important to
Geology evolutionary history. The weathering of rocks and nutrient cycling in mineral media show the impact and spread of microbial fungi in geological processes.
See also
