The earliest known fungal fossils date back to the Proterozoic era, with most fungi in the Paleozoic era being aquatic and similar to modern chytrids. Fungi colonized land before plants in the Cambrian period, and the fungal kingdom grew substantially in the Devonian era, with all modern fungal classes present by the end of the Carboniferous period.

1. Fungi Evolutionary History
The earliest found fossils of fungi date back to the Proterozoic era. In the Paleozoic era most
fungi were aquatic and were similar to today’s chytrids. The fungi came to land in the Cambrian
period much before plants did. The fungi kingdom grew very large in the Devonian period. All
the modern classes of fungi were present by the end of the Carboniferous period. Awhile after
the Permian-Triassic extinction event, there was a huge spike in the fungal population. It is
estimated that at the time there were probably more fungi on earth than any other kingdom. It is
hard to identify fossils from the earliest fungi and find out what they were like because most of
them decayed before leaving an imprint due to their squishy body type.