407 / Mesozoic
Gerontomyces
Gerontomyces lepidotus
Hyphae surrounding a scale insect preserve a tiny Cretaceous association.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 99 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Tree-bark microhabitat · Myanmar
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Gerontomyces?
Gerontomyces (Gerontomyces lepidotus) was an extinct organism known from About 99 million years ago, with a range in Tree-bark microhabitat · Myanmar.
Life and ecology
The fungus may have used the insect, its secretions or its remains.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Gerontomyces disappear?
Changes in hosts and microhabitats are possible context, but the evidence here does not show why this association disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Gerontomyces?
Amber preserves fungus, reproductive structures and scale insect together; infection timing remains uncertain.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS