Scientists have discovered a fossilized flowering plant that is 80 million years old. Reported by the University of Kansas.
This conclusion was reached after examining a well-preserved fossil found in Sacramento, California in the 1990s. The fragment comes from the Late Cretaceous Chico Formation. It did not attract the attention of scientists and was placed in storage at the Sierra College Museum of Natural History.
Now scientist Brian Atkinson has examined the fragment and, according to him, immediately realized that it is a fruit of the family Lamiidae. IcacinaceaeIt’s well known in younger deposits that arose after the mass extinction 66 million years ago. During this extinction, dinosaurs (with the exception of birds) and many other plant and animal species went extinct.
The scientist studied the structure of the fossil fetus using an optical microscope, which allowed him to take good quality pictures. By carefully examining the arrangement of ridges, pits, and mounds on it, the author was able to make comparisons with previously identified fossils to place it correctly in the family tree. By placing a fossil plant in the genus paleophytocraneAtkinson called the type chicoensis after the Chico Formation where it is located.
“The fossil belongs to a group of ivy that complicates the structure of tropical forests. This shows us that this group of flowering plants appeared very early in the fossil record. There were some hypotheses that they existed during the Cretaceous period, but there was no clear evidence. It is an excellent indication that structurally complex tropical forests could have existed 80 million years ago,” he explains.
Plants of this group later evolved into many flowering plants and survived the disaster that killed the dinosaurs. It is descended from thousands of known modern species, including food crops vital to humanity such as coffee, tomatoes, and potatoes.
formerly a biologist taught pigeon to sort pictures instead of a neural network.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.