Pacific kelp forests are far older than we thought berkeley.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from berkeley.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Berkeley CA (SPX) Jan 16, 2024 -
The unique underwater kelp forests that line the Pacific Coast support a varied ecosystem that was thought to have evolved along with the kelp over the past 14 million years.
But a new study s
Pacific kelp forests are far older than we thought berkeley.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from berkeley.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
<p>Fossils of kelp along the Pacific Coast are rare. Until now, the oldest fossil dated from 14 million years ago, leading to the view that today's denizens of the kelp forest — marine mammals, urchins, sea birds — coevolved with kelp. A recent amateur discovery pushes back the origin of kelp to 32 million years ago, long before these creatures appeared. A new analysis suggests the first kelp grazers were extinct, hippo-like animals called desmostylians.</p>