The world's oldest fossilized mushroom, dating from 115 million year ago, has been discovered in Brazil and is being called a 'scientific wonder'.

The mushroom fell into a river and began its journey in becoming a fossil at the time when Earth's supercontinent Gondwana was breaking apart.

It made its way into a highly saline lagoon, sank through the stratified layers of salty water, and was covered in layers of fine sediment, in time becoming a fossil.






The world's oldest fossil mushroom (pictured left) was preserved in limestone, an extraordinarily rare event, researchers say. Pictured right is a diagram of the mushroom, with its key identifying structures labeled. The mushroom, named Gondwanagaricites magnificus, was about five centimeters (two inches) tall and transformed into a mineral called goethite 







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The mineralized mushroom was found in the Araripe Basin in northeast Brazil, preserved in a limestone layer called the Crato Formation. In case you loved this information and you would like to receive more details about Agar Plates assure visit the page.  

ISSN: 2711-3027