Sunday, June 26, 2022
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • CCPA
  • DMCA
News Two Daily News
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • US News
  • World
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • US News
  • World
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Scientists Identify New Flower From a Forest That Existed 100 Million Years Ago

  • Sponsored results for Scientists Identify New Flower From a Forest That Existed 100 Million Years Ago

  •  
December 24, 2020
in Science
Scientists Identify New Flower From a Forest That Existed 100 Million Years Ago


Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Valviloculus pleristaminis makes for a perfect example.

Scientists only recently identified this mysterious, extinct flower. It once bloomed in the Cretaceous period – a floral relic of a bygone age, preserved in time-stopping amber since some nameless day when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.

 

“This isn’t quite a Christmas flower but it is a beauty, especially considering it was part of a forest that existed 100 million years ago,” says emeritus professor George Poinar Jr. from Oregon State University.

Poinar Jr. is something of an authority on the time-capsule-esque capabilities of amber.

The octogenarian entomologist is widely regarded as the scientist who popularised the phenomenon of prehistoric insects and nematodes being trapped in tree resin over geological timescales – ideas that took flight, literally much of the time, in the pop culture fantasy of Jurassic Park.

010 ancient flower 2(George Poinar Jr./OSU)

This lifelong focus began decades ago, but Poinar Jr.’s academic output is still prodigious. In recent years he’s described ancient, engorged ticks, discovered new orders of insect life, traced the origins of malaria, and found his fair share of forgotten flowers.

V. pleristaminis, which represents both a new genus and species of flower, is among the latest in this ever-expanding bouquet.

“The male flower is tiny, about 2 millimetres across, but it has some 50 stamens arranged like a spiral, with anthers pointing toward the sky,” Poinar explains.

 

“Despite being so small, the detail still remaining is amazing. Our specimen was probably part of a cluster on the plant that contained many similar flowers, some possibly female.”

The specimen in question was obtained from amber mines in Myanmar, having been preserved in marine sedimentary deposits dating back to the mid-Cretaceous, approximately 99 million years ago.

010 ancient flower 2(George Poinar Jr./OSU)

According to the researchers, V. pleristaminis, an example of an angiosperm (flowering plant), likely belongs to the order Laurales, particularly bearing some resemblance to the families Monimiaceae and Atherospermataceae.

But this strange, extinct flower doesn’t just offer clues about the history of floral evolution.

According to Poinar Jr., V. pleristaminis and other Burmese amber angiosperm fossils like it may also help to solve an outstanding mystery about the ancient supercontinent Gondwana from which these plants first arose.

Specifically, V. pleristaminis would have once blossomed on a chunk of Gondwana called the West Burma Block, which broke off from the rest of the supercontinent at some unknown point in history.

Quite when is a matter of some debate, with some geological hypotheses putting the date of separation as far back as 500 million years ago.

 

Research by Poinar Jr. however suggests that the West Burma Block could not have rafted from Gondwana to Asia before the early Cretaceous, given angiosperms only evolved and diversified about 100 million years ago.

The debate isn’t likely to be over any time soon, but V. pleristaminis and its amber-coated ilk provide a fresh line of thinking on the matter – a budding secret waiting to be told for almost 100…



Read More News: Scientists Identify New Flower From a Forest That Existed 100 Million Years Ago

Tags: &quot100AmberblockburmaExistedflowerForestgondwanaIdentifymillionplantpleristaminispoinarScientiststheWestyears

Related Posts

Space Junk Just Crashed Into the Far Side of the Moon at 5,800 MPH
Science

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Spots Mystery Rocket Impact Site on Moon

June 25, 2022
A tiny spacecraft could pave the way for a station between Earth and the moon
Science

A tiny spacecraft could pave the way for a station between Earth and the moon

June 24, 2022
World’s largest bacterium discovered is the size of a human eyelash
Science

World’s largest bacterium discovered is the size of a human eyelash

June 23, 2022
New Life: NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Gets a Few Extra Weeks of Science Operations
Science

New Life: NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Gets a Few Extra Weeks of Science Operations

June 23, 2022
This Electronic Tattoo Might Save Your Life
Science

This Electronic Tattoo Might Save Your Life

June 22, 2022
NASA prepares to power-down Voyager spacecraft after 44 years
Science

NASA prepares to power-down Voyager spacecraft after 44 years

June 21, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trend Today

Peru President, Martín Vizcarra, Survives Impeachment Vote

Peru President, Martín Vizcarra, Survives Impeachment Vote

September 19, 2020
Suspect killed in shootout with officers in Midvale, 3 others arrested

Suspect killed in shootout with officers in Midvale, 3 others arrested

September 19, 2020
Presentation Pac-12 presidents and chancellors saw before postponing sports featured

Presentation Pac-12 presidents and chancellors saw before postponing sports featured

September 18, 2020
US to declare UN sanctions reimposed on Iran despite disagreement from allies

US to declare UN sanctions reimposed on Iran despite disagreement from allies

September 17, 2020
Hurricane Sally unleashes

Hurricane Sally unleashes

September 16, 2020

EDITOR'S PICK

Our most popular science stories of 2020

Our most popular science stories of 2020

December 25, 2020
Larry King left a ‘hand-written will’ seeking equal split of his $50M fortune to his

Larry King left a ‘hand-written will’ seeking equal split of his $50M fortune to his

February 11, 2021
How Elizabeth Holmes sidelined the real scientists at Theranos

How Elizabeth Holmes sidelined the real scientists at Theranos

September 25, 2021
Will an F1 race mark the end of Saudi Arabia’s ban on alcohol?

Will an F1 race mark the end of Saudi Arabia’s ban on alcohol?

December 3, 2021

Headlines

Reactions to U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade abortion landmark

Reactions to U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade abortion landmark

June 25, 2022
Live Updates: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

Live Updates: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

June 24, 2022
Stocks Close Higher After Fed Chairman Testifies

Stocks Close Higher After Fed Chairman Testifies

June 23, 2022
As Biden touts gas tax pause, even some of his own officials balk

As Biden touts gas tax pause, even some of his own officials balk

June 23, 2022

Sports

Bro! Austin Nola’s 1st hit off brother Aaron is a game-winner

Bro! Austin Nola’s 1st hit off brother Aaron is a game-winner

June 25, 2022
2022 NBA Draft trade tracker: Knicks send Kemba Walker to Pistons; 76ers acquire

2022 NBA Draft trade tracker: Knicks send Kemba Walker to Pistons; 76ers acquire

June 24, 2022
Cavaliers Acquire 49th Pick From Kings

Cavaliers Acquire 49th Pick From Kings

June 23, 2022
Westminster Dog Show 2022 Live Updates: It’s Time for Best in Show

Westminster Dog Show 2022 Live Updates: It’s Time for Best in Show

June 23, 2022

World

Oslo Pride canceled after deadly ‘terror’ shooting at gay bar in Norwegian capital

Oslo Pride canceled after deadly ‘terror’ shooting at gay bar in Norwegian capital

June 25, 2022
EU plans for life without Russian gas amid inflation spike

EU plans for life without Russian gas amid inflation spike

June 24, 2022
Live Updates: E.U. Leaders Give Ukraine Coveted Candidate Status

Live Updates: E.U. Leaders Give Ukraine Coveted Candidate Status

June 23, 2022
Ukraine may have endured its worst week since the fall of Mariupol

Ukraine may have endured its worst week since the fall of Mariupol

June 23, 2022
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • CCPA
  • DMCA

© 2020 Newstwo.net

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • US News
  • World
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Health

© 2020 Newstwo.net

Get more stuff like this
in your inbox

Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously