Dinosaur Extinction Paved the Way for Grapes, Ancient Seeds Suggest
Researchers have discovered fossil grape seeds dating from 60 to 19 million years ago in Colombia, Panama, and Peru, marking the earliest known examples of the grape family in the Western Hemisphere. Published in the journal Nature Plants, the study indicates that the extinction of dinosaurs may have facilitated the spread of grapes globally. The team, led by Fabiany Herrera from the Field Museum in Chicago, suggests that the disappearance of large dinosaurs allowed tropical forests in South America to become denser, enabling plants that use vines to thrive.
The fossils, identified through CT scans, represent nine new species of ancient grapes and provide insights into how the grape family evolved after the dinosaur extinction event 66 million years ago. The research supports the hypothesis that without large dinosaurs to maintain open forests, these ecosystems became more crowded, providing new opportunities for climbing plants. This discovery underscores the potential impact of large-scale extinction events on plant evolution and biodiversity, offering a better understanding of how such crises unfold.
