Scientists confirmed on Tuesday in
Bonn-Germany that the fossils of primitive trees unearthed in Germany
in 2008 and 2009 are evidence of the world's oldest known forest.
Stephanie Mueller, Spokeswoman for the
State Museum in Bonn, pointed out that the forest is said to have
existed 390 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs.
She said the tree-like plants, known as
Calamophyton, were no taller than 3 metres and are thought to have
grown on a sandy island in a large, shallow sea which later became a
hilly region known as the Bergisches Land.
Mueller said scientists suspected that
the plants were washed into the sea by flooding, probably due to a
tsunami caused by an earthquake or major sliding of continental
slopes.
``Then, so the theory goes, they were
quickly covered with sand and mud and fossilised.
``The block of the fossils go on view
this Saturday in the archaeology department at the Bonn museum,’’
she said
No comments:
Post a Comment