A tree fossil discovered in Canada has surprised scientists. The fossil, found in a quarry in the city of Norton in the province of New Brunswick, is exactly 350 million years old.
Scientists say this tree was literally “buried alive” by a massive earthquake. Matthew Stimson, co-author of the study published yesterday in the journal Current Biology, said: “These trees were alive during the earthquake. After the earthquake, they quickly sank to the bottom of the lake and then the lake returned to normal,” says Matthew Stimson, a co-author of the study published yesterday in the journal Current Biology.
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Robert Gastaldo, a geologist from Colby College, says the fossils, which he describes as “time capsules”, can provide important information about the formation of the Earth during the Paleozoic period.
The Paleozoic period is 251.9 to 541 million years ago, and dinosaurs did not yet exist. Peter Wilf of Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the study, said that finding a complete tree fossil is much more difficult than finding a dinosaur fossil.
Gastaldo says the fossil is about 4.5 meters tall and the crown is about 5.5 meters in diameter. Pointing out that there are only 6 tree fossils from the Paleozoic period with the crown preserved, he says they were “stunned” by the discovery.
Scientists studying the fossil estimate that the tree was palm-like and may have had around 250 leaves. “If you were standing under this tree, it would probably look like a giant umbrella,” said paleobotanist Cindy Looy of the University of California, Berkeley. Its leaves were almost impervious to light. It’s an unusual and quite impressive plant.”
