Researchers add surprising discoveries to the fossil record

A recently discovered fossil suggests that tall, flowering trees developed in North America at the Turonian age, showing that these tall trees were part of the canopies of the forest nearly 15 million years ago provided that. Researchers from Adelphi University and the Burpee Natural History Museum have found the fossil in shale formation in Mancos, Utah, in old delta deposits formed in the United States. course of a misunderstood interval in North American fossils.

"These discoveries add much more detail to our landscape image during the Turonian period," said Michael D & # 39; Emic, assistant professor of biology at Adelphi, who organized the study. "Since Darwin, the evolution of flowering plants has been a topic of debate for palaeontologists because of their fossil record.Our article shows that today it is possible that a single fossil specimen changes a lot about what we know of early evolution. " of the group.

"Understanding the past is the key to managing the future," added Emic. "Learning how environments have evolved and changed in the past teaches us how to better prepare for future environmental changes."

In addition to the large petrified log, the team reports fossilized leaves of ferns, conifers and angiosperms, which confirm that there was forest or forest vegetation 90 million years ago in the region, covering broad delta s extending into the sea. The team also reports the first turtle and crocodile remains of this geological layer, as well as part of the basin of a duckbill dinosaur ; previously, the only known vertebrate remains were shark teeth, two short dinosaur tracks and a fragmentary pterosaur.

"Until now, most of what we knew about Ferron's sandstone plants came from pollen and fossil spores," says Nathan Jud, co-author and assistant professor of biology at William Jewell College. "The discovery of wood and fossil leaves allows us to develop a more complete picture of the flora."

The document, titled "A New Fossil Assembly, shows that large angiosperms have been grown in North America by Turonian (Late Cretaceous)," will be published in Scientists progress Online on Wednesday, September 26, 2018.

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More information:
N.A. Jud at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, "A new assemblage of fossils shows that large angiosperms have grown in North America among Turonians (Late Cretaceous)", Scientists progress (2018). avances.sciencemag.org/content/4/9/eaar8568