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New Giant Fungus Unearthed in China, Dating 65 Million Years

Scientists in Yunnan province discovered a colossal fungus named Dianjunus rex, or “King of Dian,” whose fruiting bodies can reach 20 inches tall and weigh up to five pounds. The find, made by teams from China, Thailand and Mexico, represents a new genus and an entirely new family, Dianjunaceae, within the Ascomycota phylum. Genomic sequencing shows the family originated roughly 65 million years ago, shortly after the Cretaceous‑Paleogene extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. Dr. Indunil C. Senanayake of the Kunming Institute of Botany explained that the timing suggests forests opened new ecological niches for wood‑decomposing fungi in the post‑extinction era. Dianjunus rex is the largest known ascomycete, surpassing previous record‑holders by a factor of two or more. The study, published in Frontiers in Fungal Biology, highlights how much fungal biodiversity remains hidden in East Asian forests. Researchers noted that the fungus’s towering structure may aid spore dispersal in dense woodland, offering insights into fungal evolution and forest ecology.

· Good News Network

The essential points

  1. 01Discovery of Dianjunus rex, a giant fungus up to 20 inches tall and five pounds in weight
  2. 02New genus and family, Dianjunaceae, identified in Yunnan’s temperate coniferous and tropical rainforests
  3. 03Genome analysis dates the family’s origin to about 65 million years, soon after the dinosaur‑killing extinction
  4. 04Study underscores vast, still‑unexplored fungal diversity in East Asian forests
The full brief

Scientists in Yunnan province discovered a colossal fungus named Dianjunus rex, or “King of Dian,” whose fruiting bodies can reach 20 inches tall and weigh up to five pounds. The find, made by teams from China, Thailand and Mexico, represents a new genus and an entirely new family, Dianjunaceae, within the Ascomycota phylum. Genomic sequencing shows the family originated roughly 65 million years ago, shortly after the Cretaceous‑Paleogene extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Dr. Indunil C. Senanayake of the Kunming Institute of Botany explained that the timing suggests forests opened new ecological niches for wood‑decomposing fungi in the post‑extinction era.

Dianjunus rex is the largest known ascomycete, surpassing previous record‑holders by a factor of two or more. The study, published in Frontiers in Fungal Biology, highlights how much fungal biodiversity remains hidden in East Asian forests. Researchers noted that the fungus’s towering structure may aid spore dispersal in dense woodland, offering insights into fungal evolution and forest ecology.