Mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs set the stage for the giant fungus D. rex | CNN

Scientists found stromata, or fruiting bodies, of Dianjunus rex growing from the roots of dying host plants in China's Yunnan province. See all topics Email Link Copied!

As the reign of the dinosaurs crumbled about 65 million years ago, new royalty rose from the ashes: a king among fungi.

Scientists recently identified Dianjunus rex, a gigantic species of fungus in what’s now China that shares part of its name with Tyrannosaurus rex, the renowned dinosaur “king.” D. rex belongs to a family of fungi that appeared following the extinction event that wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs, along with roughly 75% of all plant and animal life on Earth.