Courtesy Matthew Stimson
The Sanfordiacaulis densifolia tree is a unique find, with more than 250 spirally arranged leaves surrounding its trunk. The tree was preserved due to earthquakes in a 352-million-year-old rift-lake system in New Brunswick, Canada.
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Trees have been around for hundreds of millions of years. However, evidence of these ancient plants has been scarce until now.
A recent discovery of 3D tree fossils sheds light on the early evolution of forests and provides insight into the structure of trees throughout Earth’s history.
In a study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers revealed the existence of five tree fossils buried by an earthquake 350 million years ago in a quarry in New Brunswick, Canada. These fossils, with their unusual and distinct shape reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss illustration, offer valuable clues about a relatively unknown period in Earth’s history.
“These fossils act as time capsules, granting us a glimpse into ancient landscapes and ecosystems,” said Robert Gastaldo, a paleontologist and sedimentologist who led the study.
The first ancient trees were unearthed in 2017 by coauthors Olivia King and Matthew Stimson during fieldwork in a New Brunswick rock quarry. What sets these specimens apart is that they are among only a few in the plant fossil record, spanning over 400 million years, to retain their branches and crown leaves still attached to the trunk.
According to Gastaldo, finding well-preserved tree fossils from Earth’s earliest forests is rare. This discovery fills in some gaps in the incomplete fossil record.
“Preserved trees with intact crowns and branches dating back to the Paleozoic era are few and far between,” said Gastaldo, a geology professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Most ancient tree specimens are relatively small and are typically found in the form of fossilized trunks with attached stumps or root systems. The discovery of a preserved tree that could have grown up to 15 feet tall with an 18-foot diameter crown was a surprising find for the researchers.
The first fossil tree was excavated about seven years ago, but it wasn’t until a few years later that four more specimens of the same plant were found nearby. The new species, named “Sanfordiacaulis,” in honor of Laurie Sanford, the quarry owner, displays similar forms to modern ferns or palms, despite those tree species not appearing until 300 million years later. One of the most complete specimens of the newly discovered fossils contains more than 250 preserved leaves around its trunk, each extending approximately 5.7 feet (1.7 meters).
The unique preservation of the clustered trees is attributed to a “catastrophic” earthquake-induced landslide that occurred in an ancient rift lake, according to Stimson, an assistant curator of geology and paleontology at the New Brunswick Museum.
Finding complete fossil trees is a rare occurrence and far less common than discovering complete dinosaur fossils, according to Peter Wilf, a geosciences professor and paleobotanist at Pennsylvania State University who was not involved in the study.
According to Wilf, the new fossil tree is an “unusual” relic from a time period with scarce tree fossils and marks a significant milestone in understanding the evolution of early forest structure, which eventually led to the complex rainforest architectures supporting most of Earth’s biodiversity.
To King, the Sanfordiacaulis resembles a tree straight out of Dr. Seuss’ renowned works. The architecture of this prehistoric tree, which grew during the early Carboniferous period, did not reappear in later plant species.
The existence of the Sanfordiacaulis suggests that trees during that period were beginning to occupy different ecological niches, expanding the understanding of how plants adapted to their environment.
Fossils like the Sanfordiacaulis not only help us understand the past but also provide valuable insights into the potential future of life on Earth.
Gastaldo views this discovery as evidence that plants, similar to early invertebrates, were experimenting and adapting to their environment, offering new geological evidence of the period.
