Reconstruction of the Xinhang forest landscape. Image credit: Wang et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.053
SciNews has a post about a Devonian aged fossil forest discovered in China. The fossilized forest dates to 360 million years ago and was found near Xinhang in China's Anhui province. It is the oldest known fossil forest in Asia. A paper describing the fossils appeared in the journal Current Biology.
The Xinhang forest covered an area of at least 62 acres (250,000 m2) and grew in a coastal environment prone to flooding.
Lycopsid trees found in the forest resembled palm trees, with branchless trunks and leafy crowns.
Named Guangdedendron, they had no flowers and no seeds, but shed megaspores.
These trees were normally less than 10.5 feet (3.2 m) tall, but the tallest was estimated at 25.3 feet (7.7 m), taller than the average giraffe.
