T
he wooly mammoth (
Mammuthus primigenius) is an iconic animal, like the saber tooth tiger or dire wolf, from a time in human history when our position at the top of the global food chain was decidedly not assured (and being something s prey was not limited to just other humans). Perhaps this is a reason that resurrection of mammoths using Jurassic Park-like technology has some currency and appeal (
but see
How to Clone a Mammoth for reasons why this may not be such a good idea). Perhaps paradoxically, the mammoth arose in Africa 5 million years ago and like its (very) distant
Ancient Fungi Found in Europe s Largest Impact Crater
Fungi have colonized many parts of the world, including the impact craters of ancient meteors. New research reported in
Communications Earth & Environment has shown that fungi were once growing deep within the the Siljan impact structure in Sweden, which is the largest impact crater in Europe. The fungi seem to have fueled methane production deep in the earth, possibly in partnership with other microorganisms.
It s thought that this impact crater formed around 400 million years ago, and scientists assessed samples from drills that went deep within the crater. Filamentous structures were observed in a section of very fractured rock. Close study suggested that these filaments were the fossilized remains of fungi, which are able to grow without oxygen at these depths. Other samples of ancient fungi fossils have recently been observed elsewhere.
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