Scientists from China and United States have discovered fungi fossils dating back 630 million years in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

This is the earliest terrestrial fungi fossil evidence ever found, indicating that the ancestors of fungi, including yeasts, molds and mushrooms, colonized the land about 200 million years earlier than previously thought.

The previous earliest record of terrestrial fungus discovered in Scotland showed fungi emerged around 410 million years ago. The new discovery will recalibrate timeline of when the organism colonized the land.