There are many extinct species of fungiand it is that it is not only the plants or animals that are on the verge of disappearance, but also some species of the kingdom fungi they run the risk of leaving planet Earth forever.
Sadly, as with other living beings, the global list of extinct fungi grows a little more, being a real problem due to the important role they play in the global ecosystem.
Many fungal species are threatened by habitat loss, loss of symbiotic hosts, pollution, overexploitation, and climate change. Even so, many of the fungal species have not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List.
List of extinct fungi
1- Archaeomarasmius
It is an extinct genus of lamellae fungus in the family Tricholomatacease. It is already known that two specimens preserved in amber were recovered.
This mushroom is only one of five species of an agaric mushroom found in fossil records, and the only one to have been discovered in amber from New Jersey.
2- Gomphus clavatus
It is an edible species of mushroom of the genus Gomphus, native to Eurasia and North America. It is known by the common name of «pig ears».
Its body is shaped like a glass with wavy edges around it; It reaches up to 17 cm in height and 15 cm in width. Its color can be from orange-brown to lilac.
Discovered in the year 1774, it has had several name changes and several alternative scientific names. It is normally associated with coniferous trees.
Although once very common, it is extinct in many parts of Europe and throughout the British Isles.
3- Paleoophiocordyceps coccophagus
It is an extinct parasitic fungus belonging to the Ophiocordycipitaceae family. It was found in Burmese amber from the Cretaceous period. Its morphology is very similar to other species of Ophiocordycipitaceae.
The only known specimen consists of two fruit-like floaters emerging from the head of a male insect.
4- Cortinarius cumatilis
This species became extinct in England in the year 1868. The youngest specimens are characterized by having a kind of veil, between the cap and the stem. Many of the fibers in this curtain later disappear without a trace.
5- Palaeoagaracites
It is an extinct species of a laminated fungus of the order agaricales. It was discovered in andar deposits in Myanmar. It is one of the five known species of agaric mushrooms, being the oldest and the only one found in Burmese amber.
This fungus is probably the oldest evidence of a parasitic fungus acting on another fungus. Its prototype corresponds to a single part, without any associated structure, measuring approximately 3 cm. Its meat is a blue-gray color and it is hairy.
6- Lepiota locaniensis
It is a species of fungus endemic to Chile. It belongs to the genus Agaricaceae and has not been seen in about 50 years, so it can be considered an extinct species.
It used to flower from May to June, at the time it lived its habitat consisted of grasses and semi-arid vegetation. He was the protagonist of several cases of mushroom poisoning, first reported in 1935.
7- Leptoporus mollis
The Leptoporus a genus of fungus found in the family of Polyporaceae. It is a monotypic species, which means that it contains only one species of Leptoporus mollis.
It is widespread throughout northern areas with temperate climates. It has been extinct in the UK range since 1957. The factors that led to its extinction were loss of habitat and poor land management.
8- Buellia asterella
It is a family lichen caliciaceae. It used to be found in large areas of isolated dry grass, from Italy, to England, all the way up to southern Norway. It is believed to have originated in Germany.
It is now extinct in all but three of its global locations. Its last sighting on a British site occurred in 1991.
Two of the four sites in Germany where its occurrence was documented in the last 30 years were visited in 2015 and the species could not be found.
Its immediate cause of disappearance seems to be the loss of habitat thanks to urban and agricultural development.
9- Protomycena
It is an extinct genus of a laminated fungus of the order agaricaceae. At present, it contains only one species, Protomycena electra; discovery of a specimen preserved in an amber mine in the Northern Cordillera area of the Dominican Republic.
Its body has a convex cap of about 5 mm, with widely spaced lamellae on the underside. This specimen does not have a ring.
10- Erioderma pedicellatum
It is a foliose lichen of the family Pannariacenae with a hairy appearance. It grows on moist trees along the Atlantic coast.
Occasionally their lobes reach 12 cm in diameter. It has a distinctively hairy surface that is greyish-brown when dry and blue when wet.
It has completely disappeared in Norway, Sweden, and the New Brunswick area of Canada. The greatest threat to this species is the destruction of its habitat due to environmental pollution.
eleven- Protaxites loganii
Described by Dawson in 1859, it was a terrestrial fungus of the Ascomycota phylum. At first it was thought that it was part of the lichens due to its physical characteristics. It inhabited between the geological periods of the Silurian and the Devonian.
12- Prototaxites southworthii
Species of the same genus as the previous one. This was described in 1952 by Arnold and took the form of hyphal-like intertwined tubes. It is estimated that they lived about 420 million years ago.
13- Prototaxites taiti
One of the most recently described species of fossil fungi (Honegger, 2017). It belonged to the Devonian period and was distributed throughout Canada. Until recently they were thought to be variants of the Protaxites loganii. They measured between 1 and 8 mm and their habitat remains unknown.
Some Interesting Facts About Mushrooms
Mushrooms are an indispensable element, essential not only for humans but also for all of nature.
For example, some species of fungi recycle residues and waste products from other plants, as well as return their materials back to the soil.
Other fungal species are easily absorbed by other members of the ecosystem. Although we usually associate fungus with food, they also have many uses for human life, such as penicillin, which is extracted from a fungus.
Mushrooms can appear in many sizes and colors. So far more than 14,000 species have been scientifically classified. However, even more species are waiting to be discovered.
Although each species of mushroom has a different construction, they generally have several parts in common: the cap, the lamellae, the ring, the cup, and the stem.
The function of the fungi is to spread the spores so that they can reproduce easily. The seeds are tiny and can be easily spread by wind, water, or animals.