Posted on 03/08/2011 5:04:42 AM PST by decimon
ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2011) — A new University of Florida study of 45-million-year-old pollen from Pine Island west of Fort Myers has led to a new understanding of the state's geologic history, showing the land which is now Florida could be 10 million to 15 million years older than previously believed.
The discovery of land in Florida during the early Eocene opens the possibility for researchers to explore the existence of land animals at that time, including their adaptation, evolution and dispersal until the present.
Florida Museum of Natural History vertebrate paleontologist Jonathan Bloch, who was not involved in the current study, said he is especially interested in the finding and future related research.
"As a paleontologist who studies the evolution of mammals, my first question is 'OK, if there was land here at that time, what kinds of animals lived here?' " Bloch said. "Most of our current understanding of the evolution of early mammals comes from fossils discovered out west."
The study in the current issue of the journal Palynology by David Jarzen, a research scientist at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus, determined sediment collected from a deep injection well contained local, land-based pollen, disproving the popular belief Florida was underwater 45 million years ago during the early Eocene.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Yes, very scientific. You’re right, of course. ;-)
Older than shuffleboard!
*Gasp* No! Really?
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