Remains of a long-lost tropical rainforest have been discovered underground in a cold and wet region of Australia. Among the 12 species catalogued were two new types of conifer, as well as tree ferns that are believed to be the ancestors of plants found today in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and South America.
More than 400 ancient fossils were uncovered near the town of Strahan in western Tasmania by researchers from the University of Adelaide. They were frozen in time more than 53 million years ago during the early Eocene, when the supercontinent Gondwana had almost split apart, but Australia, Antarctica and South America were still joined together.
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Lead researcher Dr Miriam Slodownik explained why tropical forests were able to thrive at a time when Tasmania was much closer to the South Pole.
“This discovery offers rare insights into a time when global temperatures were much higher than today,” Slodownik said. “Tasmania was much closer to the South Pole, but the warm global climate allowed lush forests to thrive in these regions.”
Plants tell the story of changes to the world’s continents
But using advanced ultraviolet photography and microscopic analysis the researchers were able to study the plants at a cellular level and gain a better understanding into the origins of common Australian plants.
The findings, and detailed images of the plants were published in the latest edition of the American Journal of Botany.
“This study revealed the amazing diversity of Tasmania’s fossilised forest. These plants tell the story of big changes in climate and the shifting tectonic plates over millions of years,” Slodownik said.
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