The secret jungles of ancient France

(PhysOrg.com) -- Ah, Paris. Land of the Eiffel Tower, delicious French bread and... tropical rainforests? Sacrebleu! It seems unlikely, but scientists have discovered evidence that France may have been a hot, wet tropical rainforest 55 million years ago.

Scientists found the evidence in amber, sticky tree sap that hardens into a deep, yellow, rock-hard fossil — like the amber that scientists in Jurassic Park used to snare dino DNA. Led by Akino Jossang, the scientists studied amber found near Paris. The shocker? The type of tree that produces this amber grows today only in the Amazon rainforest!

The ancient ancestor of this tropical tree died out long ago. However, the scientists used clever detective work to find its modern plant relative. They discovered a chemical called quesnoin in their amber samples. While lots of trees produce different types of amber, only the Amazon tree produces amber containing quesnoin.

How could this kind of tree grow near Paris? Dr. Jossang thinks that Paris and France must have had a hot, balmy climate 55 million years ago. It may have been like today’s . The scientists found evidence for that idea. The French amber deposits contained fossilized plants and animals like those found in a . More evidence for this French rainforest comes from the country’s geographic location over fifty million years ago. Back then, Earth’s continents were in locations much different from today’s world. France was much closer to Africa in a warmer, tropical region.

A report on this fascinating scientific research is in the January issue of ACS’ Journal of Organic Chemistry, a scientific journal.

More information: “Quesnoin, a Novel Pentacyclic ent-Diterpene from 55 Million Year Old Oise ,”

Provided by American Chemical Society (news : web)

Citation: The secret jungles of ancient France (2009, July 16) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2009-07-secret-jungles-ancient-france.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Amber fossils reveal ancient France was a jungle

0 shares

Feedback to editors