FOSSIL FUNGI

Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Krings, Edith L.

Taylor. 2015, 382 p. Academic Press,
London, UK. ISBN: 978-0-12-387731-4

CARLA J. HARPER

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie. Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 München, Munich
Deutschland, Germany.

To cite this article: Carla J. Harper (2015). FOSSIL FUNGI. Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Krings, Edith L. Taylor. 2015,
382 p. Academic Press, London, UK. ISBN: 978-0-12-387731-4. Ameghiniana 52: 238–240.

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Also appearing in this issue:

Plants, fungi, arthropods: remarkable Body size, diet, and habits reveal Sedimentological and ichnological
3D preservation in a new Jurassic ecological niches of 11 sloth genera data helps distinguishing two types
chert from Patagonia. from the Santacrucian (early Miocene). of deltaic mouth bars.
BOOK REVIEWS AMEGHINIANA - 2016 - Volume 53 (2): 238 – 240

ISSN 0002-7014

FOSSIL FUNGI. Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Krings, Edith L. Taylor. 2015, 382 p. Academic Press, London, UK.
ISBN: 978-0-12-387731-4.

While most of us probably have a visual image of di- Chapter 4 focuses on the Chytridiomycota and intro-
nosaur bones or the remains of mammoths that once duces the Rhynie chert as a model ancient ecosystem. While
roamed the Earth, invertebrate shells, or plant leaves, what reading this chapter, one might think about the phrase “not
about fossil fungi and other types of microorganisms? The all that glitters is gold” in terms of “not all microfungi that
book, “Fossil Fungi” by Taylor, Krings, and Taylor addresses look like chytrids actually are chytrids” because the au-
this question on 382 pages, subdivided into 13 chapters and thors are quick to point out that there are many fossils that
accompanied by more than 400 images. superficially appear to be chytrids. However, structures
Fungi today are instrumental to the health and success produced by other groups of organisms, especially Hy-
of virtually every ecosystem in the world, and they certainly phochytridiomycetes and certain Peronosporomycetes,
played similarly important roles in the ecosystems of the may be very similar to, and thus as fossils indistinguishable
geologic past. We know that there is an extraordinary from, structures seen in chytrids. The authors note that the
abundance of fungal remains in the fossil record; however, abundance of these organisms in the fossil record might
systematic studies of fungi and their roles in ancient make it possible to reconstruct life cycles, as well as to
ecosystems based on fossils are rare, owing primarily to decipher interactions of chytrids and chytrid-like organisms
several inherent problems and limitations connected to the with other ecosystem constituents, especially land plants.
fossil record of the fungi. This book chronicles the fossil One interesting question is found on pg. 67: “…will it be
record of fungi through the geologic ages, places them possible to examine the effects of chytrid parasites on the
within a systematic context where possible, and describes germination of glomeromycotan spores that are a biological
various types of fungal associations and interactions that component of endomycorrhizas in relation to effects on
existed in ancient ecosystems. Paleomycology is defined the population of early land plants?” Perhaps these mi-
as a research area, and is discussed within the historical croorganisms had profound impacts on population control
context of both extant and fossil fungi, and linked to other of early land plants through their mycorrhizal fungi.
closely related disciplines. The book is structured and out- The next chapter (Chapter 5) focuses on the Blastocla-
lined similar to the Taylor et al. (2009) paleobotany textbook diomycota and in contrast to the other chapters is relatively
in that it addresses in the early chapters (1–3) “what exactly short, attesting to the exceedingly sparse record of this
are fossil fungi”, the historical context of the discipline, group of zoosporic fungi. Persuasive fossil evidence of this
and the various modes of preservation of fossil fungi. The group exclusively comes from the Rhynie chert. The authors
following chapters survey the fossil record for each of the offer the hypothesis that fossils of these fungi have perhaps
fungal phyla in current systematic order, i.e., lower to higher not been recognized because Blastocladiomycota today are
fungi, then lichens, biotic and abiotic interactions with fungi, defined primarily on ultrastructural and molecular features,
and bacteria as well as fungus-like organisms. There are as well as by a life cycle showing alternation of generations.
also numerous portraits of mycologists and paleobotanists, Chapter 6 describes the complex fossil history of the
who have contributed to paleomycology, including historical zygomycetes. Fossils of zygomycetes are generally rare, but
figures such as Robert Kidston and William H. Lang. One of there are a number of interesting fossils dating back to the
the many highlights of this textbook are the series of open Devonian. One interesting question introduced in this chap-
questions and current hypotheses in paleomycology that ter concerns the use of the terms sporocarp and “sporocarp”
serve in garnering interest as research foci for future inves- for certain peculiar spherical microfossils from the Devonian
tigators in the study of fossil fungi. through Triassic. The authors do a nice job of explaining how
238 AMGHB2-0002-7014/12$00.00+.50
many of these fossils might not represent sporocarps, but in fossils for this type of tissue preference? These and many
rather mantled chlamydospores of glomeromycotan fungi other areas will also be important sources of new informa-
or zygosporangia of a zygomycete. One thing the reader can tion as paleomycology increases its contribution to our un-
take away from this chapter is the morphological plasticity derstanding of ecosystem dynamics in the fossil record…”
of fossil members of the zygomycetes, and how difficult it is The final chapter in the systematic survey of the fungal
to accurately place these organisms in a systematic context. lineages, Chapter 9, deals with the Basidiomycota, perhaps
The next chapter, Chapter 7: Glomeromycota, focuses the most familiar group of fungi. The chapter is structured
on a group of fungi that arguably forms one of the most similar to chapter 8 in providing a nice overview of reports
important fungal interactions on Earth, i.e. the mycorrhizal of fossil clamp connections, as well as mushrooms, smuts,
symbiosis. The chapter provides a comprehensive literature and rusts in amber, and the reports of fungal wood decay.
survey of fossil arbuscular mycorrhizas, but also discusses The text leaves the reader with more questions than fossils
reports on glomeromycotan spores and especially the co- to answer the questions, attesting to the scarcity of fossil
evolution of mycorrhizal fungi and early land plants. At the evidence of this major fungal lineage. The group is probably
end of the chapter the authors state that the evolution of ancient, but the early fossil record is difficult to interpret be-
the arbuscule cannot at present be directly reconstructed cause of the lack of diagnostic features; the oldest clamp
from the fossil record. However, they propose that another connection dates to the Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous).
fossil fungus can be used as a model to study this mem- The vast majority of fungal phyla have been found in the
brane-fungus interface. Page 128 “One idea… uses the Rhynie Chert, so where are the basidiomycetes prior to the
Carboniferous fossil root endophyte Cashhickia acuminata Carboniferous? Where is the pre-Cenozoic record of mush-
(see Chapter 8) as a model system (Taylor et al., 2012). rooms, smuts, and rusts? Especially curious, where are the
Perhaps a fungus similar to C. acuminata initially extended pre-Cenozoic examples of ectomycorrhizal fungi? More so
through the apoplast and intercellular spaces of the host than with the other groups of fungi, the possibility exists
cortex and later gained the capacity to penetrate the cell that the earliest Basidiomycota looked markedly different
wall but was unable to breach the cell membrane...” Inte- from their younger fossil and modern relatives and lacked
grating topics and reports of fossil fungi across geologic the diagnostic features that define the lineage today.
time periods to address these evolutionary questions may Despite the title, the book also addresses several other
be a point of ongoing inquiry for future investigators. groups of organisms (Chapters 10–13) such as lichens, bac-
The Ascomycota, addressed in Chapter 8, are the most teria, fungus-like organisms (e.g., slime molds and water
diverse and largest group of fungi. Taylor et al. provide a molds). One of these chapters also includes information on
comprehensive overview of structurally preserved Paleo- the enigmatic nematophytes, especially Prototaxites, a
zoic through Cenozoic ascomycetes, but the vast majority towering, 8-meter tall organism for which the most com-
of this chapter discusses the diversity of Mesozoic and monly accepted interpretation today it is likely a lichen.
Cenozoic epiphyllous ascomycetous fungi. The last sections Moreover, several types of fungal interactions with other
of the chapter address the use of the term ‘endophyte’ organisms such as animals, plants, other fungi and even
when describing fungi, noting the inconsistency of the term certain abiotic interactions such as the interaction with rock
in modern studies and in fossil fungi. Moreover, the authors substrates are addressed. On pg. 268, the authors state
elaborate on the paucity of documented fossil evidence of “…identifying microorganisms such as bacteria, actinobac-
fungi inhabiting leaves, a niche widely exploited by as- teria, and slime molds in the fossil record will always pose
comycetous fungi today and one of the most common in- a challenge until sufficient techniques have developed to
teractions in modern ecosystems. The authors also suggest record some type of biomarker or other molecular signa-
several avenues of new research relating to the fossil record ture…”
of leaf-colonizing fungi, pg. 171 “…are there any differences Fossil Fungi is welcomed because it is the first and only
in host preference? Does a particular leaf type always have book on the fossil record of fungi and microorganisms, and
the same epiphylls or endophytes? [...] Is there any evidence achieves the fine balance of being equally interesting for pa-

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AMEGHINIANA - 2016 - Volume 53 (2): 238– 240

leobiologists interested in fungi and neo-mycologists inter- Carla J. Harper

ested in fossils. The images accompanying the text repre- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
sent a crucial aspect for anyone studying fossil fungi since Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie
they can serve as search images for paleobiologists or to Richard-Wagner-Straße 10
neo-mycologists to familiarize themselves with fossil fungi. 80333 München/Munich - Deutschland/Germany
Unlike the Paleobotany book by Taylor et al. (2009) that e-mail: [email protected]
had a chapter dedicated to basic plant anatomy, there is no
chapter on fungal morphology, but the authors do a good
job in describing the most important terms throughout the
text and in an extensive glossary at the end of the book.
For those, however, who might need additional information
on fungal structure and biology, I would suggest to the use
Ulloa and Hanlin (2012) and/or Webster and Weber (2007)
as a companion to the text. The study of paleomycology is
REFERENCES
a cross-disciplinary field, and therefore this textbook should Taylor, T.N., Taylor, E.L., and Krings M. 2009. Paleobotany: The Bio-
be on the bookshelves of anyone who studies or is inter- logy and Evolution of Fossil Plants. Academic Press, New York,
NY. 1230 p.
ested in paleobiology, biology, geology, and many other
Taylor, T.N., Krings, M., Galtier, J., and Dotzler, N. 2012. Fungal
fields or, as the authors put it (pg. xi), “…see the contents of endophytes in Astromyelon-type (Sphenophyta, Equisetales,
Calamitaceae) roots from the Upper Pennsylvanian of France.
this volume only as a starting point on a continuum of in-
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 171: 9–18.
corporating the geological history of fungal lineages…” As Ulloa, M., and Hanlin, R.T. 2012. Illustrated Dictionary of Mycology
integral as fungi are to our lives today, paleomycology is (Second Edition). APS (American Phytopathological Society)
Press, St. Paul, MN. 784 p.
poised to be as integral for paleobiologists and mycologists Webster, J., and Weber, R. 2007. Introduction to fungi. (Third Edi-
alike. tion). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 855 p.

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