Looking at over 2,000 fossils in Colombia from one of the world's largest open pit coal mines, scientists were able to recreate for the first time the structure of a long vanished rainforest. One inhabited by a titanic snake, giant turtles, and crocodile-like reptiles.
Despite large changes in the climate and geology since—including a cooling in the tropics—scientists found that many flora species dominating the landscape 58 million years ago, known as the Paleocene, still dominate today, including legumes, palms, avocado, and banana. Their discoveries could have important implications for researchers working to predict how the tropics will react to climate change. Many biologists have feared that a warmer earth will devastate rainforests assuming the flora will simply be unable to withstand hotter temperatures. This study may bring everyone back to the drawing board.
Leaf in the tropical rainforests of Colombia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
"Neotropical rainforests have an almost nonexistent fossil record," said study co-author Fabiany Herrera, a graduate student at the Florida Museum of Natural History. "These specimens allow us to actually test hypotheses about their origins for the first time ever."
The fact that the scientists were able to examine fossils made a big difference. Researchers have had to depend on pollen analysis for information about past tropical forests, but pollen only allows identification of species to the family level, while the fossils revealed lineage all the way down to the plant's genus by examining the structure of preserved leafs. Moreover, fossils provide important information about insect types, climate, and forest structure.
Mongabay.com is an environmental science and conservation news website.
