Open AccessPre‐Cretaceous Agaricomycetes yet to be discovered: Reinvestigation of a putative Triassic bracket fungus from southern Germany
Author(s) -
Kiecksee Anna Philie,
Seyfullah Leyla J.,
Dörfelt Heinrich,
Heinrichs Jochen,
Süß Herbert,
Schmidt Alexander R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
fossil record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1860-1014
pISSN - 1435-1943
DOI - 10.1002/mmng.201200006
Subject(s) - agaricomycetes , cretaceous , paleontology , fungus , fossil record , tetrapod (structure) , biology , botany , basidiomycota
Agaricomycetes are major components of extant terrestrial ecosystems; however, their fruiting bodies are exceedingly rare as fossils. Reinvestigation of a peculiar fossil from Late Triassic sediments of southern Germany interpreted as a bracket fungus revealed that this fossil in fact represents a wood abnormality, resulting from injury to the cambium and subsequent callus growth in a Baieroxylon ‐like ginkgoalean wood. As a result, the fossil record of the Agaricomycetes does not yet pre‐date the Early Cretaceous, suggesting a late diversification of basidiomycetes possessing large fruiting bodies. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)