Fungi Surged 50% After Chicxulub Impact, Pointing to a Global Post-Extinction Bloom
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · May 29
Fungi Surged 50% After Chicxulub Impact, Pointing to a Global Post-Extinction Bloom
2 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · May 29
Rock layers in Colorado and North Dakota show fungal spores made up at least 50% of fungal-and-plant spores at the 66 million-year-old K-Pg boundary, indicating a sharp bloom immediately after the Chicxulub impact.
The PNAS study says fungi then proliferated for 2,000 to 10,000 years, likely feeding on vast amounts of decaying life as darker, cooler conditions favored cold- and acid-tolerant species.
A similar fungal signal in New Zealand suggests the post-impact bloom may have been global rather than local to North America.
The researchers also found an earlier spike 30,000 to 10,000 years before the impact that coincides with intense Deccan Traps volcanism, supporting a possible two-hit extinction scenario.
The fossil fungi were extinct Ascomycota, probably saprotrophs with melanin-rich spores that may have helped them survive radiation and shape ecosystem recovery after collapse.
After the dinosaurs, a fungal world emerged. Could the next global catastrophe trigger a similar fungal kingdom to rise again?
An asteroid was the final blow, but were volcanoes already killing the dinosaurs' world with a hidden fungal plague?
Fungi rebuilt the world after the dinosaurs died. What can they teach us about surviving our planet's next great challenge?
After the Chicxulub Impact: Definitive Evidence for a Global Fungal Bloom and Its Role in Post-Extinction Ecosystem Recovery
Overview
In 2026, scientists confirmed that a global fungal bloom followed the Chicxulub impact, greatly improving our understanding of how ecosystems responded to the K/Pg mass extinction. This discovery was supported by evidence from both the Denver Basin and New Zealand, showing the event was worldwide. Key to this breakthrough were new analytical methods developed by researchers Rosanna Baker and Arturo Casadevall, which allowed for more precise detection of fungal dominance in the fossil record. These refined techniques not only revealed the scale of the fungal bloom but also promise to uncover more periods of ecological stress in Earth's history.