Rendering of prehistoric plant discovered by NMMNHS and Smithsonian researchers in Socorro County. Courtesy/NMMNHS
NMDCA News:
ALBUQUERQUE — A team of researchers from the Smithsonian and New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (NMMNHS) have unearthed a new species of plant that lived before the age of dinosaurs in rural Socorro County.
This new species, Socorropteris cancellarei, lived roughly 290 million years ago during the Permian Period, and provides vital insight into what the landscape that’s now southern New Mexico may have looked like at that time.
The research, co-authored by Smithsonian curator William DiMichele alongside NMMNHS Curator Spencer Lucas and NMMNHS Research Associates Susan Harris and Paul May, was published in the most recent edition of the journal Annals of Botany.
“Even during our museum’s renovation, our researchers continue their work scientifically exploring our world,” NMMNHS Executive Director Dr. Anthony Fiorillo said. “This new work underscores that New Mexico was a hotbed of life during much of the Paleozoic Era, and raises new questions about the plants that lived in our state 290 million years ago.”
The fossils were uncovered by Harris in northeastern Socorro County. The species was named for longtime NMMNHS volunteer Joe Cancellare, who has volunteered for NMMNHS for more than a decade, working in the Museum’s fossil collections as well as in the field with NMMNHS staff and other volunteers collecting fossils.
“Naming the new plant after Joe was to honor his outstanding service to the Museum and to the science of paleontology,” said co-author and NMMNHS Paleontology Curator Dr. Spencer Lucas. “Joe Cancellare represents the best of volunteers: always cheerful, helpful and tireless in his work to support the Museum and its scientific programs.”
Socorropteris cancellarei was an upright, centrally rooted plant, bearing numerous leaves clustered at the apex. Socorropteris was a small plant, with stems roughly 5 millimeters in diameter, and height, including the crown, is estimated to be about 20 cm. Research suggests that it was likely a seed plant.
Stem bases were found crowded on a sandstone surface that formed in a sheet flood. Based on this location, the plant’s structure, and the lack of competing species, researchers believe this plant was an opportunistic colonizer of habitats that had been disturbed by floods, fires, and other natural disruptions. The presence of such a plant suggests the ecosystem during the Permian Period featured large-scale flooding, making it rife for disruption survivors like Socorropteris.
However, the newly discovered plant also raises new questions for researchers. The paper notes that the rarity of the plant is puzzling, given the likelihood of widespread flooding in the region. Possible explanations include fragility of ground cover plant fossils, as well as sampling biases on the part of collectors. Further study is needed to determine whether these unique plants were truly rare, or just under-sampled.
About the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, through the generous support of donors. Established in 1986, the mission of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is to preserve and interpret the distinctive natural and scientific heritage of our state through extraordinary collections, research, exhibits, and programs designed to ignite a passion for lifelong learning. The NMMNHS offers exhibitions, programs, and workshops in Geoscience, including Paleontology and Mineralogy, Bioscience, and Space Science. It is the Southwest’s largest repository for fossils and includes a Planetarium and a large format 3D DynaTheater. The Museum is closed temporarily for renovations.