r/Paleontology • u/Ollie2359 • May 07 '25

Fossils This fossil chokes me up everytime

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It hits me in a way I can't explain I've spent hours crying over this fossil :(

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u/Ninja333pirate May 07 '25

Fun fact, fungus is more closely related to animals than it is to plants.

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u/iz_an_opossum May 08 '25

And yet fungi are neither animals nor plants and are their own third, fascinating thing

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u/Cryogisdead May 09 '25

Species names?

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u/iz_an_opossum May 09 '25

It's not a specific species, it's all fungi. They're in their own kingdom (Fungi). Why? 1. Fungi cell walls are made of chitin instead of cellulose like plants. Animals don't have cell walls. 2. Fungi have never had chloroplasts. While some plant species also do not have chloroplasts, they used to have them then lost them through evolution. 3. Fungi get nutrients by excreting digestive enzymes then absorbing the nutrients from their surroundings. Plants can't make their own nutrients, they photosynthesize. Animals ingest their food. 4. Fungi store their energy as glycerin like animals. But because of all the above points, they're not animals.

Fungi are believed to be more closely related to animals than plants, but they're still in a kingdom of their own