Den nyopdagede svamp, Purpureocillium atlanticum.

The newly discovered fungus, Purpureocillium atlanticum. Photo: João Araújo, Natural History Museum Denmark.

Millions of Fungal Species Could Disappear Before We Discover Them

Researchers estimate that more than two million fungal species remain unknown to science, and many of them may go extinct before they are ever discovered. The new State of the World's Plants and Fungi report highlights the need to accelerate the description of new species, while research involving scientists from Natural History Museum Denmark demonstrates how new methods can make it faster to discover and describe unknown species.

Press release

23.06.2026

More than two million fungal species are still unknown to science, although some estimates suggest the true number could be as high as ten million. Many of these species may contain compounds or traits that could one day be used in medicine, food production, or to protect crops against diseases and pests. At the same time, researchers believe that up to three-quarters of these unknown species may already be at risk of extinction before they are even discovered.

This is highlighted in the newly published State of the World's Plants and Fungi report from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which points to the need to accelerate efforts to discover and describe Earth’s unknown biodiversity.

Among the research contributions featured in the report is a study led by João P. M. de Araújo, Curator of Mycology at Natural History Museum Denmark, demonstrating how new technological approaches can make the process of finding and describing new species faster and more efficient.

Taking the Laboratory into the Field

In the study, the researchers used a so-called taxogenomic approach, combining traditional species description with DNA analyses carried out directly in the field. Using portable equipment, researchers can analyse genetic material during fieldwork rather than sending samples to laboratories for later analysis. This makes it possible to identify and describe new species more quickly.

The method makes it possible to gather far more information at the locations where potentially new species are discovered, including in areas where access to laboratory facilities may be limited.

– Researchers estimate that, at the current pace, it could take up to 1,000 years to describe all of the world’s fungal species. If we are not to lose the opportunity to study some of them, we need to find new ways to accelerate the process. Portable DNA equipment allows us to take the laboratory into the field and obtain crucial genetic data right where species are discovered. This can make the work of describing new species both much faster and more accurate, explains João Araújo.

According to the State of the World's Plants and Fungi report, around 4,000 new fungal species are described every year. This is far more than in the past, but still only a small fraction of the enormous number of fungal species that researchers believe exist.

The newly discovered fungus, Purpureocillium atlanticum. Photo: João Araújo, Natural History Museum Denmark.

The 'zombie fungus' from the Brazilian rainforest

The Purpureocillium atlanticum fungus is a so-called “zombie fungus” that had taken over a trapdoor spider in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest. It invades the spider from within and envelops it in a white layer of fungal threads known as mycelium. A purple fruiting body, up to two centimetres long, then grows out of the dead spider and above the soil surface, where the fungus releases its spores and continues its life cycle by taking over another host.

Read the study here.

A new fungal species demonstrates the potential of the method

The method was used, among others, to investigate and describe the fungus Purpureocillium atlanticum, which was discovered during fieldwork in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest.

The combination of traditional species identification and genetic analyses made it possible to quickly establish that the researchers were dealing with a species previously unknown to science.

The discovery therefore provides a concrete example of how new methods can make the process of discovering and describing biodiversity both faster and more efficient.

– In the past, we would often have had to wait for samples to be sent to a laboratory and analysed. In this case, we were able to begin the genetic work directly in the field. This allowed us to quickly determine that the fungus was something unusual and begin the process of describing the species, says João Araújo.

In the study, he and his colleagues also point to the need for more specialists, more training and better access to genetic data if efforts to document the world’s biodiversity are to keep pace with the changes taking place in nature.

Read the new State of the World's Plants and Fungi report from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew here.