New fossils upend catastrophist narrative that flowering plants flourished only after dinosaur extinction
Paleobotanists have discovered fossilized seeds and fruits in New Mexico that suggest flowering plants were thriving 10 million years before the dinosaur extinction. This challenges the long-held belief that angiosperms only flourished after the asteroid impact.
Why it matters
This discovery forces a re-evaluation of evolutionary timelines and the ecological conditions of the Late Cretaceous period.
Flowering plants, or angiosperms, now dominate Earth’s flora, but biologists thought they truly took off only after an asteroid impact 66 million years ago. A ‘botanical Pompeii’ containing fossilized seeds and fruits shows they prospered 10 million years earlier.
The article presents scientific evidence and academic findings in a neutral, informative manner.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in