A peculiar cluster of fossils was retrieved from the Green River Formation in Utah again in 1969 – the 47-million-year-old leaves of an “alien plant” that was considered an uncommon member of the ginseng household. Now, scientists have revisited the specimens with a recent fossil in addition, revealing that it’s not ginseng and is definitely even stranger than first realized.
The new-to-science species was named Othniophyton elongatum in 1969, primarily based on some fossilized leaves. We maintain saying “alien plant” as a result of that’s what its identify interprets to (othnio = alien, phytum = plant).
A brand new fossil
One one that could be very aware of the 1969 fossils is Steven Manchester, curator of palaeobotany on the Florida Museum of Natural History. Manchester did a little bit of palaeobotany detective work when he encountered an unidentified plant fossil that had additionally come from the Green River Formation, and as a part of a workforce demonstrated that it was, in actual fact, the identical plant species. It was a giant discovery as a result of the leaves, fruits, and flowers on that specimen appeared nothing like ginseng, which means the preliminary identification of the 1969 fossils was seemingly incorrect.
“This fossil is uncommon in having the twig with connected fruits and leaves,” mentioned Manchester in an announcement. “Usually these are discovered individually.”
The detective work continued as they went looking for a residing species that might stand as much as the peculiar bodily options of the previous and new fossils. That search proved fruitless, in order that they appeared to extinct plant species and nonetheless got here up with nothing.
The pitfalls of palaeobotany
The incapability to suit Othniophyton right into a recognized household or genus isn’t a failure, nevertheless, however as a substitute an excellent demonstration of what you come up in opposition to in palaeobotany. As Manchester put it, when confronted with restricted stays of historic species, “you possibly can’t all the time shoehorn this stuff,” however then the workforce started exploring a brand new option to study the fossils’ minute particulars.
A brand new microscopy workstation on the Florida Museum, which had been established by the curator of synthetic intelligence, was used to take a good nearer have a look at the fossils. The mixture of the digital microscope’s highly effective lens and a computer-enhanced shadow impact revealed micro-impressions that had been left behind by small seeds.
“Normally we do not count on to see that preserved in a majority of these fossils, however possibly we have been overlooking it as a result of our tools didn’t decide up that type of topographic reduction,” Manchester mentioned.
A trait by no means seen in fashionable vegetation
Looking on the plant on this manner revealed an uncommon characteristic that hadn’t been acknowledged earlier than: it nonetheless had stamens whereas bearing fruits. That’s a trait that’s by no means been seen in any fashionable vegetation, the place the norm is for the stamen to fall away with the petals as soon as the flower is fertilized.
Even with their further data, the workforce nonetheless couldn’t discover a excellent match for Othniophyton. It has some options that might level to the order Caryophyllales, however its lack of a transparent place with respect to extant plant households most likely signifies that the lineage went extinct, and maybe so too did its shut relations.
The palaeobotanical puzzle continues, as there was a e-book printed in 1969 that comprises many different equally mysterious specimens, and we anticipate finding out what the Green River Formation turfs up subsequent.
The examine is printed within the journal Annals of Botany.
