Fungus lost to science for 42 years found again in Chilean mountains

The big puma fungus hasn't been seen since it was discovered in 1982 in Chile’s Nahuelbuta mountains – now an expedition has finally rediscovered these tiny, elusive mushrooms

22 May 2024

Mushrooms of the big puma fungus found in Chile more than 40 years after their last sighting

Fungi Foundation

A tiny, elusive mushroom native to Chile’s mountains has been found again, more than 40 years since its only recorded sighting in 1982.

In the early 1980s, mycologist Norberto Garrido collected more than 200 species of fungi during expeditions to the mountainous forests of southern Chile. Among Garrido’s haul was a previously unknown fungus that he called the big puma fungus (Austroomphaliaster nahuelbutensis) after the region in which it was found, the Nahuelbuta mountain range, which means the big puma range in the local Mapadungun language.

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Garrido formally described the fungus in 1988, highlighting its unique grey-brown colour with a hint of red. The cap of its mushrooms has a slight depression in the middle and white gills underneath. Each one stands around 4 to 5 centimetres tall and the stems are thicker at the base.

“It is the only species of fungi in its genus,” says Daniela Torres at the Fungi Foundation in Chile. “So that makes it very special.”

The big puma fungus hadn’t been officially spotted since its discovery more than four decades ago and was thought to be lost to science. So Torres and her colleagues set out to find it again.