Your favourite "living fossils"?

[Michaelangelica]

GinKgo Biloba, because I love the shape of its leaves and it is the only one of its genus left

The story is told that the last tree on earth was found in an Asian monestry.

 

Now it is being explored for its medicinal value (ironically for memory)

 

 

You might also include the Wollombi Pine found very recently in a "Lost Valley" near Sydney NSW Australia

Adenda sept 11 2008

I didn't give much detail on these did I?

I think both are the only remaining examples of their order

For sure for Ginkgo i will need to check the Pine. Amazingly the pine was found an hour's drive from where I live in Newcastle/Sydney suburbia

[Thunderbird]

Araucaria araucana (Pehuén or Monkey-puzzle) is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. It is native to central Chile and west central Argentina, and is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter. Because of species' great age it is sometimes described as a living fossil. Araucaria araucana is the national tree of Chile.

 

The leaves are thick, tough and scale-like, triangular, 3–4 cm long, 1–3 cm broad at the base, and with razor-sharp edges and tip. They persist for 10–15 years or more, so cover most of the tree except for the older branches

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_puzzle_tree

 

 

[freeztar]

Moderator Note: The discussion on marine strata and oxygen sources has been moved to a new thread here.

[Moontanman]

Araucaria araucana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

 

When I had my greenhouse I had a monkey puzzle tree, they are very similar to the Norfolk island pine which is also an ancient tree.

[mynah]

Some intriguing plants include lycopods, descendants of the first trees, and still showing the dichotomous (forking) branching of ancient plants.

 

Oddest of all plants, however, must be the Welwitschia. Although molecular research indicates that it is no more than a very weird cousin of the pine family, it looks like an upside-down octopus, and has a single pair of very long leaves that last more than a thousand years, as well as flower-like male reproductive organs. Not sure, though, if it should be called a "living fossil", as it does not resemble any dead fossil yet found. (Not that this is all that surprising, considering its arid habitat.)

[Michaelangelica]

Stromatolites

They look like rocks, you'd think they were rocks.

In photosynthesis in the daytime, they actually wave around like rocks in some kind of slow motion. . .but they are in fact living things, believed to be the oldest living organisms on earth.

Hard to beat for age. I have neve seen them. (They live 4,000miles west.)

Facinating how we have these ancient unchanged lifeforms and, on the other hand, bacteria that swap genetic material before your eyes. Two speed Evolution is a puzzle.

Stromatolites: Modern stromatolites ? living fossils

Stromatolites - Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Western Australia

 

Google Image Result for http://aslo.org/photopost/data/516/82005_1005Ningaloo0118_stromatolites-Shark_Bay_low_res-med.jpg

[mynah]

Here is my provisional list of living fossils. In some cases I've gone for an example of a group instead of the group itself (e.g. "tulip tree" is a more catchy heading than "basal angiosperms"), but plan to explain myself in the body text. Please let me know of any serious omissions, which there are bound to be: Protists seem to be particularly absent, and I wondered if slime molds should be considered.

 

Stromatolites

Liverworts

Lycopods

Horsetails

Cycads

Ginkgo

Welwitschia

Tulip tree

Choanoflagellates

Lingula

Chitons and aplacophorans

Nautilus

Vampire squid

Velvetworms

Horseshoe crabs

Whip scorpions

Silverfish

Dragonflies

Gladiators (insect)

Wood cockroaches

Dracula ants

Pterobranchs

Lancelets

Lampreys

Frilled sharks

Bichirs

Coelacanths

Lungfish

Salamanders

Sidenecked turtles

Tuataras

Hoatzin

Platypus

Monito del monte

Okapi

Tarsiers

[Ganoderma]

i am not sure if they can be called living fossils, but perhaps. I would have to say my favourite are Caecilians. some cool critters!

[Moontanman]

The most dangerous living fossil is Redneckasaurus republicanis

 

Rumored to be a huge reptile like monster that eats liberals, spends money like a drunken sailor, and attacks anyone who disagrees with it. :doh:

 

sorry I couldn't help myself!

[Eclogite]

The most dangerous living fossil is Redneckasaurus republicanis :doh:

What is it descended from, or did it come into existence spontaneously in a puff of smoke?

[Racoon]

I am going to say the Bristlecone Pine Tree. :doh: They are the oldest living things...

 

 

[freeztar]

Actually, that's an old record, Racoon.

 

Botanical Record-Breakers (Part 1 of 2)

[Racoon]

Actually, that's an old record, Racoon.

 

Botanical Record-Breakers (Part 1 of 2)

 

yeah, but they've been around 'forever'

:doh:

 

Other than that I'd have to agree with DragonFlies too.. They're very cool, still

 

[Moontanman]

What is it descended from, or did it come into existence spontaneously in a puff of smoke?

 

I don't think there could be any doubt it is the result of Intelligent Design:doh:

[mynah]

I don't think there could be any doubt it is the result of Intelligent Design:doh:

Seems more like a laboratory accident. Yet more proof that, like cockroaches, not all living fossils are rare and worthy of conservation. :doh:

[Michaelangelica]

Ten thosand years not bad for one tree

Another special plant for Keith is a huon pine, which comes from a place called Mount Read, on the wettest part of the west coast. The plant is part of a forest of several hundred trees which are identical and connected by layering in the roots. “We know how old it is because the pollen in nearby lake sediments is 10 and a half thousand years old. So this organism has been living on Mount Read for at least that amount of time. It's probably one of the oldest living things in earth. It’s very precious,” Keith said.

Gardening Australia - Fact Sheet: A Tasmanian Native Garden

 

At Mt Read in north-west Tasmania, at an altitude of 1000 metres, are several hundred Huon Pine trees which share an extraordinary legacy.

 

 

Frond of Mt Read Huon Pine

(Lagarostrobos franklinii)

(Photo: J & R Coghlan)

 

Located beside the small glacial Lake Johnston, all the trees are male and all are genetically identical, forming a clone. No variation in DNA has been found between the trees. There are no other Huon Pines within 20 km of Mt Read, and no female trees anywhere in the area.

 

It is concluded that a male tree established itself at Lake Johnston at least 10,500 years ago, possibly as a windblown seed, and has been propagating itself vegetatively ever since, so that the identical genes survive to this day.

 

Thus, while the oldest individual tree or stem on the site now may be one to two thousand years old, the organism itself has been living there continuously for at least 10,000 years – a ‘Methuselah tree’ indeed.

 

Read more at the website.

detail

Mt. Read Huon pine

brief report:

Gumnuts - Could a tree be 10,000 years old? - Blognow

 

 

Redneckism seems to be an actual botanical? (thick as a plank?) biological? (slime mould?) term. (Try googling it):eek:

GENIUS BY BIRTH. SLACKER BY CHOICE.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Redneckism--a tutorial

Abused, Unused and Recycled: Redneckism--a tutorial

[mynah]

Are the seed ferns truly extinct? I was most intrigued by this female Cycas plant.