Provided by: Matthew Stimson
The unique preservation of the Sanphodiacaulis densifolia tree, whose trunk is surrounded by more than 250 spirally arranged leaves, accounts for the 352 million trees currently exposed in New Brunswick, Canada. It was the result of the rift lake system earthquake a year ago.
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It is believed that the tree has origin billions of years ago. Since then, evidence for these ancient plant sentinels has been lacking.
Now, a new discovery of a unique 3D tree fossil has opened a window into what the world was like long ago. Earth’s early forests began to evolve and our understanding of the structure of trees expanded throughout the history of the earth.
The remains of five trees buried alive in an earthquake 350 million years ago have been discovered in a quarry in New Brunswick, Canada. study It was published Friday in the journal Current Biology. The authors say these new and rare tree fossils not only have surprising shapes reminiscent of Dr. Seuss illustrations, but also duration of life on earth we know very little about it.
“They’re time capsules, literally little windows into deep landscapes and ecosystems,” said paleontologist and sedimentologist Robert Gastaldo, who led the study.
Co-authors Olivia King and Matthew Stimson unearthed the first ancient tree in 2017 while conducting fieldwork at a quarry in New Brunswick. One of the specimens they discovered is one of the few instances in the entire plant fossil record, which spans more than 400 million years, that the branches and crown leaves of a tree are still attached to the trunk.
There are very few tree fossils dating back to Earth’s oldest forest According to Gastaldo, it has never been discovered before. Their discoveries help fill in the missing pieces of an incomplete fossil record.
“At least we can only record five or six trees. Paleozoic erathe crown was preserved intact,” said Gastaldo, a professor of geology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Most ancient tree specimens are relatively small, he noted, and are often found in the form of fossilized trunks with attached stumps or root systems. Colleagues “astonished” paleontologists when they discovered a preserved tree with a crown diameter of 18 feet and which would have reached 15 feet in height at maturity.
Provided by: Tim Stonecipher
This model rendering of the newly discovered Sanfordiacaulis tree includes a simplified branching structure for easier visualization.
Researchers unearthed the first fossil tree about seven years ago, but it took several more years before four more specimens of the same plant were discovered in close proximity to each other. The new species, named ‘Sanford Deacaulis’, was named after Laurie Sanford, the owner of the quarry where the tree was excavated.
Despite the fact that these tree species appeared 300 million years ago, research shows that previously unknown 350 million year old plant forms are similar to modern ferns and It is said that it somewhat resembles a palm. However, while the ferns and palms we know have almost no leaves at the top, the most complete newly discovered fossil specimen has more than 250 leaves preserved around the trunk, and some Each leaf, preserved in , extends to about 5.7 feet (1.7 meters).
Stimson, assistant curator of geology and paleontology at the New Brunswick Museum, said the fossil is encased in sandstone rock and is about the size of a small car.
The unique fossilization of this group of trees was likely the result of a “catastrophic” earthquake-induced landslide in an ancient rift lake, he said.
“These trees were alive when the earthquake happened. They were buried very quickly and then very quickly to the bottom of the lake, and then the lake returned to normal,” Stimson said. Told.
Peter Wilf, a paleobotanist and professor of geosciences at Penn State University who was not involved in the study, said complete tree fossils are rare and far rarer than complete dinosaur discoveries. . Wilf pointed out in his email that this “rare” new tree fossil is a relic from an era when very few fossil trees existed.
“The new fossils are a milestone in our understanding of how early forest structures evolved and eventually led to the complex rainforest structures that support most of Earth’s living biodiversity.” added Wilf.
To King, the New Brunswick Museum researcher who discovered the fossil group, Sanford’s Deakauri would have looked like something plucked straight out of Dr. Seuss’s relics. most popular works.
“Did you know that the ‘Lorax’ trees have big pom-poms at the top, and the trunks are thin? They probably have a similar structure. They have this huge crown at the top, which narrows. , it goes into this very small trunk like a piece of paper,” King said. “It’s a very Dr. Seuss-like tree. It’s a weird and wonderful idea to think about what this could look like.”
However, the reign of Sanford Diacaulis Researchers said their lifespan was short. “We will never see a plant structure like this again,” Stimson told CNN.he pointed out that it had grown Early Carboniferousthe period at the end of the Paleozoic era. Animals and plants were also diversifying. When they started heading from water to land.
Much of evolution is experimental; success It is often measured by the versatility of a species, its ability to adapt to different locations and conditions. Stimson added that the series of strange tree fossils shows evidence of a “failed experiment in science and evolution”. “We’re really starting to paint a picture of what life was like 350 million years ago.”
Provided by: Matthew Stimson
Researchers unearthed the first fossilized Samphodiacaulis tree about seven years ago, but four more specimens were discovered in close proximity to each other a few years later.
Fossils like Samphodia cauri not only help humans understand how life has changed in the past, they also help scientists understand where life on Earth will go next. It’s also helpful.
The researchers involved in the discovery say the presence of this particular species suggests that trees at the time were beginning to occupy more distinct ecological niches than previously understood.
Mr. Gastaldo says this is because the plants early invertebrates — were experimenting with how they would adapt to their environment. The earthquake that likely caused the fossilization of trees also provides new geological evidence of what was happening in the world. earth system At the same moment.
“This is the first evidence we have of trees that may exist between trees that grow above ground and trees that tower above ground,” Gastaldo said. “What else was there?”