Giant Camels and More Treasures Discovered in Fossilised California Forest
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Mastodon teeth, dug out of an ancient petrified forest in California. (Photo: Jason Halley (California State University, Chico))
First, the trees came out of the ground. A few weeks later, the bones emerged. Bit by bit over the past year, a team of paleontologists and geologists, among others, have uncovered the fossilised remains of a Miocene forest, from its gomphotheres and mastodons to the trees themselves.
A park ranger, Greg Francek, stumbled upon the site last summer. It lies east of San Francisco, near what is today the Mokelumne River. “I was on patrol out on the watershed and I happened upon a petrified tree,” Francek said in a statement put out by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. “After finding dozens of trees, I began to realise that what I was looking at was the petrified remains of a forest.” Further excavations over the following weeks yielded bones, and a stratigraphic
Tuesday, 11 May, 2021 - 05:00
Ripe Pinot Noir grapes hang on the vine at Colmant in
Franschoek, South Africa, on Feb. 4, 2021. RODGER BOSCH/AFP/GETTY
IMAGES Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat
A research team from the University of Panama found the oldest fossil of an 18-million-year-old vine tree.
According to the researchers, who published their study in the journal PLOS ONE, the fossil provides evidence of a new species and is the oldest reliable example of a climbing woody vine known as a liana from the soapberry family.
In the study, the researchers made thin slices of the fossil, examined the arrangements and dimensions of tissues and water-conducting vessels under a microscope, and created a database of all the features.
Researchers discover 18.5 million year old vine fossil as new species ANI | Updated: May 08, 2021 08:58 IST
Washington [US], May 8 (ANI): An 18.5 million-year-old fossil found in Panama researchers at the Cornell University provides evidence of a new species and is the oldest reliable example of a climbing woody vine known as a liana from the soapberry family. The discovery sheds light on the evolution of climbing plants.
The new species, named Ampelorhiza heteroxylon, belongs to a diverse group of tropical lianas called Paullinieae, within the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). More than 475 species of Paullinieae live in the tropics today.
Researchers identified the species from fossilized roots that revealed features known to be unique to the wood of modern climbing vines, adaptations that allow them to twist, grow and climb.
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ITHACA, N.Y. - An 18.5 million-year-old fossil found in Panama provides evidence of a new species and is the oldest reliable example of a climbing woody vine known as a liana from the soapberry family. The discovery sheds light on the evolution of climbing plants.
The new species, named Ampelorhiza heteroxylon, belongs to a diverse group of tropical lianas called Paullinieae, within the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). More than 475 species of Paullinieae live in the tropics today.
Researchers identified the species from fossilized roots that revealed features known to be unique to the wood of modern climbing vines, adaptations that allow them to twist, grow and climb.
7-May-2021 9:35 AM EDT, by Cornell University
Newswise ITHACA, N.Y. – An 18.5 million-year-old fossil found in Panama provides evidence of a new species and is the oldest reliable example of a climbing woody vine known as a liana from the soapberry family. The discovery sheds light on the evolution of climbing plants.
The new species, named Ampelorhiza heteroxylon, belongs to a diverse group of tropical lianas called Paullinieae, within the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). More than 475 species of Paullinieae live in the tropics today.
Researchers identified the species from fossilized roots that revealed features known to be unique to the wood of modern climbing vines, adaptations that allow them to twist, grow and climb.