Exquisitely preserved fossil forest from late Miocene epoch found in Japan

Tokyo

A reserach group in Japan has uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved fossil forest that might help scientists understand the missing links to reconstruct a "whole Eurasia plant from the late Miocene epoch"- a period that existed around 10.4 to 5 million years ago.

The fossil belongs to the Wataria parvipora forest, according to a press release from Hokkaido University whose Professor Toshihiro Yamada from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences led the study. 

“Wataria is a wood-fossil, recognised by its distinctive growth rings, abundant parenchyma rays and lack of resin canals. In the 2000 metre square fossil site, these stumps accounted for 95 per cent of the tree remains, indicating that we discovered a forest predominantly of this species,” says Yamada.

Notably, the forest was first discovered in modern times during a severe drought in 1994 when around 450 fossilised tree stumps emerged from the water. While the majority of the stumps have since been submerged, scientists were able to successfully examine 137 of them and the surrounding leaves. 

The largest fossilised trunk found during the excavation process was around 137 centimetres in diameter.

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A fascinating yet rare discovery 

The discovery might seem rather mundane to the layman but one needs to understand that it is incredibly rare to find plant fossils in one piece. 

"Complete plant fossils are seldom found as a single piece, as wood, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, or pollen detach easily from plants," the researchers noted. 

"This results in leaves and trunks having separate scientific names. Putting together the different parts to reveal the complete plant is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Connecting these dots and reconstructing plants is important to establish their taxonomic identity—their place in the Tree of Life."

The findings published in the journal Scientific Reports state that the majority of surrounding leaves belonged to Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium which is a leaf-fossil species, associated with the Malvaceae or mallow family, and is related to modern plants like cotton, cacao, and okra. 

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Notably, fossils of this leaf have been found across Eurasia and date back to Miocence as well as Pliocene epochs. 

"We found that 98 per cent of the fossil-leaves found at the site belonged to Byttneriophyllum, strongly indicating that they were shed from the parent trees," added Yamada.

(With inputs from agencies)

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