PALEOBOTANY'S ‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME'
Huge Karoo fossil find rocks scientists’ world
When Rose Prevec noticed a specific outcrop of rock in the Karoo, it ‘screamed fossils’. Thirteen years later she has announced a discovery so rich and well preserved that it has filled massive gaps in knowledge about the evolution of the planet and its ecosystem diversity before the ‘Great Dying’ wiped out most life on Earth. DAVE CHAMBERS reports.
PALEOBOTANY'S ‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME'
Huge Karoo fossil find rocks scientists’ world
When Rose Prevec noticed a specific outcrop of rock in the Karoo, it ‘screamed fossils’. Thirteen years later she has announced a discovery so rich and well preserved that it has filled massive gaps in knowledge about the evolution of the planet and its ecosystem diversity before the ‘Great Dying’ wiped out most life on Earth. DAVE CHAMBERS reports.
Deel
TALKING to Rose Prevec about the surprise she has just sprung is a bit like encountering a boisterous puppy. The energy she radiates, the sparkle in her eyes, suggests that for her, in this moment, life is about as good as it gets.
The reason for Prevec’s excitement might not trigger everyone’s serotonin receptors, but in the world of paleobotany the discovery she announced in a paper at the weekend was earth-shattering.
In 2009, within a few metres of a tiny Karoo gravel road in the Sutherland area, Prevec made what she now calls “the ultimate, once-in-a-lifetime find”: an almost impossibly rich fossil deposit that fills massive gaps in knowledge about the evolution of the planet and the diversification of its life forms. ..
Registreer gratis om hierdie artikel te lees.
Hallo! Welkom by Vrye Weekblad. Ons inhoud is nou in Afrikaans én Engels beskikbaar.
Al wat jy hoef te doen om gratis te begin lees, is om met jou e-pos te registreer en ’n wagwoord te skep.
Om dit te doen, kliek eenvoudig op “REGISTREER”.
Reeds geregistreer? Kliek op “MELD AAN” om voort te gaan.
Vir nuwe VWB 3.0-navrae: WhatsApp 071 170 8927 (net vir teksboodskappe) of stuur 'n e-pos aan hulp@vryeweekblad.com.
Verwante Artikels
Die storie van SA paleotoerisme se biljoenêr
Jy ken nie dié ou Kalahari nie: water net waar jy kyk!
Berger vind nóg ’n skatkis van fossiele
Is SA tog die geboorteplek van die mens?
Nuut ontdekte fossiele(tjies) wys evolusieproses
Deel
-
Deel
-
-
-
-
-
-
Volgende artikelDave Chambers
JournalistDave joined the “great resignation” and now freelances for a range of South African publications.