The shocking truth about the 8m tall limbless "monster"

Discovered more than 160 years ago, the giant fossil structures made by the 8m-tall limbless "monster" called Prototaxites became a big mystery to experts as they could not be classified. After many years of research, experts from the University of Edinburgh (UK) determined that it could be a new form of life. Photo: Mary Parrish, National Museum of Natural History.

The " monster " Prototaxites looks like a strange tower, up to 8 meters high, without limbs or branches, not an animal, plant or any form of life known to humans. Photo: Loron et al., bioRxiv, 2025.

According to experts, Prototaxites are believed to have emerged in the late Silurian period, about 420 million years ago. Photo: Loron et al., bioRxiv, 2025.

Some early 21st-century studies by experts speculated that Prototaxites might be a “monster” fungus . This was reinforced in 2017 when experts conducted an analysis involving a fossil fragment believed to be from the periphery of a smaller Prototaxites species called P. taiti. However, this is not yet conclusive evidence. Photo: Loron et al., bioRxiv, 2025.

Recently, a study conducted by experts at the University of Edinburgh examined and analyzed three fragments of P. taiti and concluded that there was not enough evidence to conclude that Prototaxites was a fungus. Photo: preprint server bioRxiv.

By examining the microscopic anatomy and chemical analysis of the tubular structures, the team systematically eliminated any possible relationships between Prototaxites and present-day fungi and other species. Image: preprint server bioRxiv.

“We believe that Prototaxites are best considered members of a completely extinct and previously undocumented group of eukaryotes,” the team said. Image: preprint server bioRxiv.

Experts say the presence of Prototaxites, a previously unidentified form of life on Earth, is evidence that we have yet to fully decipher the evolutionary history of plants and animals on the blue planet. Photo: preprint server bioRxiv.

Readers are invited to watch the video: Excavation of Jurassic carnivorous monster that appeared from "ghost" lineage.

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