SAEDNEWS: You might find it interesting to know that scientists have discovered fossilized remains of a mangrove forest.
According to Saed News’ social coverage, citing Khabar Online, a mysterious lost world that vanished 22 million years ago in a cataclysmic volcanic eruption has recently been rediscovered. The finding has led scientists to conclude that local extinctions occurred globally.
Researchers have re-identified this lost forest in the Panama Canal region and discovered that it teems with species no longer found on Earth today. The remarkable discovery of the mangrove forest on Barro Colorado Island was made by a team from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
About 23 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, the South American and Caribbean plates collided, giving rise to Panama and Central America. The collision created a hilly island that emerged from the ocean.
Barro Colorado Island was fringed with towering forests, some trees reaching up to 40 meters high. Fossilized samples from the island helped scientists determine that the area provided ideal conditions for the ancient mangrove species, largely because the forest grew where freshwater and seawater mixed.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during the Miocene were also much higher than today, allowing these trees to grow far taller than modern mangroves.
Because mangroves rely heavily on carbon dioxide for growth, the research team concluded that this ancient species was unlike anything on Earth today. The scientists discovered 121 preserved wood fragments in a river on Barro Colorado Island, naming the species Sonneratioxylon barrocoloradoensis.
The genus name Sonneratioxylon references the group to which the species belongs, which still exists today, while the latter part of the name honors the island where it originated. Though this mangrove species has relatives in today’s world, its closest kin now exist only in Southeast Asia.
The absence of other tree fossils in the area suggests that other species struggled to survive nearby. Fossil evidence also indicates that the mangrove forest was wiped out by a massive volcanic eruption.
This eruption produced a lahar, an Indonesian term for a fast-moving mixture of water, mud, ash, and rock. Lahars flow like wet concrete, quickly covering large areas. Rich in silica, the waters also provided remarkable fossil preservation. Water infiltrates the tissues of living organisms, while the concrete-like blanket of debris prevents decay.
The research team found compelling evidence that this eruption destroyed the ancient forest. Scientists further believe that this forest was likely not alone—these local extinctions probably occurred across the globe.
