|
Young World
Fossil forest
COMPILED BY R. KRITHIKA
PHOTO: AP
ANCIENT RAINFOREST: In a coalmine.
Scientists in Illinois have discovered an ancient rainforest in a coalmine. Fossilised tree trunks and leaves, preserved over 40 square miles, give an idea of the variety of plant life that existed 300 million years ago. The fossil forest was right above the seam; so once the coal had been mined, it was clearly visible on the roof. "It's literally a snapshot in time of a multiple square mile area," said Scott Elrick of the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) as quoted on the website LiveScience.com. Scientists believe this is among the first rainforests on Earth — between 310 and 290 million years ago. Like modern rainforests, it had many layers with club moss (130 feet tall) that covered tree ferns, shrubs and other tree-sized plants. The preservation of the entire rainforest in such a spectacular manner was probably the result of major earthquake, which buried within a very short span of time, speculate scientists. "Some of these tree stumps have been covered geologically speaking in a flash," Elrick said on LiveScience.com. This discovery will help scientists learn how the species in a forest changed and how changes in the environment can affect a species.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
|
