Paleozupeña

2007/04/19 Rementeria Argote, Nagore - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Biologia
• Botanika
• Ekologia
• Paleontologia
• Arkeologia

They discover the fossil of a tree that lived three hundred and eighty million years ago. And the news is that the tree is complete. In fact, the fossil trunks of this tree (Eospermatopteris) have been found before in New York State, but they did not know what kind of cup it had. Now you know, with a glass of broad flattened leaves, like some current palm trees.

In addition, thanks to this fossil they have realized that fossils of the tree cup of this species were already found, but they were not associated with Eospermatopteris trunks, and were considered another plant species.

In addition, knowledge of the tree aspect will help experts to better understand the ecology and geochemical characteristics of the forests of the time. Consequently, they will investigate the relationship between the evolution of vegetation and the climate changes of the time.

This discovery has therefore served to know the appearance of the oldest trees that have been found (the newly discovered fossil has a long trunk of 9 meters and wide flat leaves), to reclassify some fossils and to better investigate the relationship between vegetation and climatic fluctuations.

Image courtesy of: Frank Mannolini, New York State Museum.