🌅 A New Branch of the Animal Kingdom

SOURCE

Loron et al. (2026)

WHAT TO KNOW

• A new study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland suggests Prototaxites, an ancient organism resembling a cactus with no arms, are a distinct and previously unknown form of life. Prototaxites were massive organisms—reaching up to 26 feet tall and 3 feet wide—that lived during the Devonian period around 420 million years ago. Before trees came along, they were the largest land-dwelling organisms on Earth.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The first Prototaxites fossils were uncovered in 1843, however, until now, scientists weren’t able to determine whether the now-exinct organisms were a type of plant or fungus (the leading theory suggested they were a giant ancient fungus). The authors of the present study examined a Prototaxites fossil from the 407-million-year-old Rhynie chert (a sedimentary deposit in northeast Scotland), finding the organisms are anatomically and chemically distinct from plants and fungi, placing them in their own category.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Life on Earth is classified within three domains: bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. Bacteria and archaea contain only single-celled organisms, while eukarya contains all multicellular organisms within the four kingdoms of life: fungi, animals, plants, and protists. The present study suggests Prototaxites are a distinct form of life within the eukarya domain.