Greek scientists have unearthed a rare fossil tree in the volcanic zone of Lesvos Island, whose branches and roots are still intact after 20 million years. The picture shows the petrified forest on Lesvos Island.
Greek scientists have unearthed a rare fossil tree in the volcanic zone of Lesbos, whose branches and roots are still intact after 20 million years, a fossil never seen in the region so far.
According to Reuters, the tree was found during road construction near an ancient forest that petrified millions of years ago in the eastern Mediterranean, and was transported from the site using special plywood and metal platforms.
Professor Nikos Zouros of the Museum Of Natural History Of The Petrified Forest Of Lesbos said it was the first Time since excavations began in 1995 that a tree in such good condition had been found. The tree is complete with branches and roots.
“This is a unique find,” he said, “quite well preserved, and by studying the petrified tree we will be able to determine which plant it belongs to.”
Lesvos’ petrified forest covers 15,000 hectares and is a UNESCO-protected site. (Rosa-Maria Rinkl/Wikipedia)
Petrified trees are known to be a type of fossil, where the organic material of the tree has been replaced by minerals such as silicates during geological evolution, but the original structure of the wood has been preserved to a microscopic degree.
This fossil tree is about 19 meters long and was preserved by a thick layer of volcanic ash after it fell. A large number of fruit tree leaves were also found at the same site.
Zulos said, “During the excavation, a wide variety of forests from 17 to 20 million years ago were found at the same time, from which we can reconstruct the ecosystem that existed during that period.”
The petrified forest at Lesvos covers 15,000 hectares and is a UNESCO-protected site. The site was subjected to a volcanic eruption 20 million years ago, when the subtropical forest ecosystem was “suffocated” by lava and ash.
With an area of 1,630 square kilometers, Lesvos is the third largest island in Greece. The complex structure of the surrounding crustal plates and the frequent volcanoes and earthquakes created a unique petrified forest landscape during the evolutionary phase of the Earth 20 million years ago, providing mankind with a wealth of information about the composition and characteristics of ancient flora and climatic conditions.
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