Frozen Flower Dating to Dinosaur Times Uncovered

Frozen Flower Dating to Dinosaur Times Uncovered
TT
20

Frozen Flower Dating to Dinosaur Times Uncovered

Frozen Flower Dating to Dinosaur Times Uncovered

A spectacular flower that bloomed when dinosaurs ruled the Earth has been unveiled – frozen in time. The new plant preserved in amber is captured in exquisite detail, looking "like a sunburst." It has been hailed a holiday beauty for 2020.

Named Valviloculus pleristaminis, it became entombed in the sticky sap of a tropical tree that hardened into a transparent shell. Known as Burmese amber, it opened a window into prehistoric lost worlds. The biggest land animals that ever lived still had 35 million years to go as planetary overlords when Valviloculus grew. According to The Metro, they are known to have eaten flowers.

Lead author Professor George Poinar of Oregon State University said: "This isn't quite a Christmas flower but it is a beauty, especially considering it was part of a forest that existed 100 million years ago."

Amber excels at preserving the finer points of plants and animals. On contact, resin seeps into tissues, protecting against fungus and rot while also drying them out. Asia is rich in dinosaur fossils – with specimens including Velociraptor and neck-frilled Dilophosaurus of Jurassic Park fame.

Prolf Poinar is an international expert in using plant and animal life forms preserved in amber to learn more about the biology and ecology of the distant past.

"The male flower is tiny, about two millimeters across, but it has some 50 stamens arranged like a spiral, with anthers pointing toward the sky. Despite being so small, the detail still remaining is amazing. Our specimen was probably part of a cluster on the plant that contained many similar flowers, some possibly female," he explained.



Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
TT
20

Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci

Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organized hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three meters (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses.

The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings.

Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years.

"Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said.

Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years.

The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people.

It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work.

Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe.

"They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said.

Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area.

"(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said.