Wine drinkers should thank the dinosaurs, as 60 million-year-old grape fossils have been discovered

Wine drinkers should thank the dinosaurs, as 60 million-year-old grape fossils have been discovered


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A group of scientists at Chicago’s Field Museum recently discovered fossilized grape seeds that could link dinosaurs to today’s humans. Numerous wine offerings.

South America The study found nine new species of fossil grapes that are at least 19 million years old — with the oldest species found in 60-million-year-old rock.

Dr. Fabiani Herrera, assistant curator of paleobotany at The Field Museum, led the study.

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The discovery proved that grapes spread across the world after the extinction of the dinosaurs, a press release said.

“These are the oldest grapes ever found in this part of the world, and they’re a few million years younger than the oldest grapes ever found in the world.” on the other side of the planet,” Herrera said in the release.

Liquor

The study leader said, “I’ve been looking for the oldest grapes in the Western Hemisphere since I was a graduate student.” As a result of the new findings, the fossil record of grapes in the New World has been revised. (iStock)

According to the press release, the seeds found in Colombia, Panama and Peru may be between 19 and 60 million years old.

Dr. Monica Carvalho, Assistant Curator University of Michigan Many years ago, dinosaurs likely knocked down trees while roaming forests — ultimately destroying ecosystems, said , a scientist in the museum’s department of paleontology and a co-author of the study.

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“We believe that if large dinosaurs roamed the forest, they likely would have knocked down trees, leaving the forest more open than it is today,” he said in a statement to the media.

Grape fossil

Scientists have found that the oldest grape fossil found in the Western Hemisphere is about 60 million years old. (SWNS)

However, Herrera said that when the dinosaurs became extinct about 66 million years ago, plants regrow in areas of South America — and trees grow in adjacent regions.

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“In the fossil record, we begin See more plants “At this time, plants like grapes use vines to climb trees,” he said.

He went on to explain why he wanted to search for a “needle in a haystack” in South America.

Carvalho with the fossil

Dr. Monica Carvalho, assistant curator at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology and co-author of the new study, discovered the oldest fossil of a grape, which scientists said was a major discovery. (SWNS)

“I’ve been searching for the oldest grapevine in the Western Hemisphere since I was a graduate student,” he said.

Herrera said Carvalho was the person who first discovered the fossil of a grape.

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He said she yelled, “Fabiani, a grape!”

He said, as quoted in the press release, “I saw it and I was like, ‘Oh my god.'”

Scientists with wine and fossils

Grape fossils were found for the first time in the Western Hemisphere—and dinosaurs may have had something to do with this place, too. (iStock/SWNS)

Carvalho also said, “In excavating the fossil record in the tropics of the New World, we found seeds belonging to the grape family that date back 60 million years. This led us to revise the fossil record of grapes in the New World,” according to the University of California. Michigan website,

“The oldest seeds we have found are very closely related to the larger group that gave rise to commercial grapes, i.e., to the subfamily Vitoideae,” he adds.

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According to the same source, he also said, “We have a rich but previously poorly known fossil record for grapevines in the New World, and what we are seeing is that this family has a complex history of extinctions and dispersals into the New World.”

woman drinking a glass of wine

A new study conducted in South America sheds light on the history of the grape in the Americas and the Caribbean. (iStock)

After conducting a CT scan, scientists were able to confirm the fossil based on its size, shape and other distinctive features, according to the press release.

After the first fossil was found, scientists found eight other new types of fossil grapes in the South American region.

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Carvalho said the new study highlights the history of grapes in the Americas. and the CaribbeanAccording to the University of Michigan website.

“After the dinosaurs went extinct, there was a huge gap in the fossil record of grapes. About 50 million years ago, we see grape fossils in North America and Europe,” he said.

warming up wine glasses

“There was a huge gap in the fossil record of grapes after the extinction of the dinosaurs,” said one of the study’s researchers. “About 50 million years ago, we see fossil grapes in North America and Europe.” (iStock)

“At that time, when the planet was warmer, the distribution of grapevines was widespread in higher, northern latitudes, but we really didn’t know much about the history of this group in tropical latitudes. That’s where our work comes in.”

Fox News Digital contacted the study authors for further comment.

The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is one of these. The largest museums This is the first case of its kind in the world.

Today there are approximately 11,700 wineries in the US.

California, the state that is home to the most population in the US and the most vineyards in the country, consumed the most wine in 2021, exceeding 155 million gallons, VinePair also cited other sources.

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In second place was Florida, which consumed 83.2 million gallons of water, and in third place was Texas, which consumed 65.6 million gallons of water.

Today, there are approximately 11,700 wineries in the U.S., according to the Vines Analytics winery database.


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