If we were to travel back in time 635 million years, we would arrive on a barren planet. Earth’s continents are devoid of life. Over the past 90 million years, the planet has been frozen; everything is empty, covered in ice, with no animals, trees or plants – not even moss has taken root yet. Temperatures are only just beginning to rise slightly.
But beneath the surface, tiny fungi are working to transform the planet.
The vital role of fungi for the progress of life was revealed in early 2021, when Chinese scientists published their discovery of an ancient fungus fossil. The fossil is the oldest evidence of fungal life on dry land, and it is at least 130 million years older than the oldest known terrestrial animals which emerged some 450-500 million years ago.
According to the scientists, the recently discovered fungus played a key role in the conversion of Earth from a frozen snowball into a habitable place for millions of organisms on a high-diversity planet. The fungus made rock crumble and break down into soil that could harbour
