The Paleontology of North America

Other Fungi from North America

What are Other Fungi? This group includes the bread molds (Zygomycota), yeast and sac fungi (Ascomycota), club fungi (Basidiomycota), and the “imperfect fungi” (Deuteromycota). They have a wide variety of forms and sizes, including single cells, filaments called hyphae, and large balls. Because their forms are so variable, relationships among these modern fungi are mainly determined by molecular studies. Their variability, small size, and other factors combine to make fossil fungi and their relationships difficult to define, but their patchy fossil record extends back at least into the Devonian.

First known fossil occurrence: Devonian.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

Fossils through time:
Choose a time period to see what life was like:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian