Really, really, REALLY old fossils!
Hey all...
Last week CNN published a news article about two 385-million-year-old tree fossils (one from a trunk, and another from the crown of a tree), which scientists have determined are about 23 million years older than what was previously thought to be the earth's oldest tree (Archaeopteris). Click here for the article.
The tree has been named Wattieza and resembled a 30-foot palm. They think that these early trees flourished in forests, absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and cooling the earth, right before the appearance of the first vertabrates on land.
One of the scientists working on the study, Christopher Berry, said "This is a spectacular find which has allowed us to recreate these early forest ecosystems." Yay trees :)
On a somewhat related note, you can find my review of Richard Darwin Keyne's Darwin bio Fossils, Finches and Fuegians here. Great book...
Cheers...and see you in class Wednesday, when I'll be telling you all about the Fuegians,
Kate
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