lycophidion, 2 months ago to nature

These gars are the ultimate ‘living fossils’

Fish’s genomes are so static that groups whose last common ancestor lived during the time of the dinosaurs can produce fertile hybrids today

https://www.science.org/content/article/these-gars-are-ultimate-living-fossils

#biodiversity #nature
#evolution #livingfossil #Lepisosteidae

grafphoto, 6 months ago to nature

I photographed this metasequoia in our yard yesterday while out with our dogs. The sun was rather high so I didn't plan for any photos. But when walking around, I went behind the tree and saw its canopy aglow and had to go in and grab my camera. The dogs, however, were annoyed with the interruption of play time.
#TreeTuesday #nature #NatureToot #livingfossil #metasequoia #dawnredwood #autumn #Photography #explore

Nonog, 8 months ago to random

Mystery of 'living fossil' tree frozen in time for 66 million years finally solved
The Wollemi pine was thought to have gone extinct 2 million years ago until it was rediscovered by a group of hikers in 1994. Now, scientists have decoded its genome to understand how it's survived — almost unchanged — since the time of the dinosaurs.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/mystery-of-living-fossil-tree-frozen-in-time-for-66-million-years-finally-solved #LivingFossil #tree #Wollemi #pine #extinct #survival