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Image Title: Fossil mushrooms Protomycena electra Hibbett, Grimaldi, & Donoghue gen. et sp. nov. (Fungi Basidiomycota)
Image Credit: David Grimaldi
AJB Editor: Karl Niklas, Cornell University
Intended End User: Teacher, Student
License Details: BSA - Terms for Image Use
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About the Image

Protomycena electra Hibbett, Grimaldi, & Donoghue gen. et sp. nov. (Fungi Basidiomycota). This mushroom was found in Dominican amber and is ~15-30 million years old. It is remarkable not only for its exquisite preservation, but also for its striking morphological resemblance to extant mushrooms in Mycena and other Tricholomataceae. Protomycena is one of only three known fossil mushrooms.

Link to the AJB Abstract for the article:

Fossil mushrooms from Miocene and Cretaceous ambers and the evolution of Homobasidiomycetes

National Science Foundation  Development Supported by the National Science Foundation