A group of scientists from the Field Museum in Chicago recently discovered fossilized grape seeds that could link dinosaurs to today’s many wine offerings.
The study in South America discovered nine new species of fossil grapes dating back at least 19 million years, with the oldest found in a 60 million-year-old rock.
Dr. Fabiany Herrera, assistant curator of paleobotany at the Field Museum, led the study.
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This discovery proved that grapes spread throughout the world after the extinction of the dinosaurs, as stated in a press release.
“These are the oldest grapes ever found in this part of the world, and they are a few million years younger than the oldest grapes ever found on the other side of the planet,” Herrera said in the statement.
“I’ve been searching for the oldest grape variety in the Western Hemisphere since I was an undergraduate,” said the study leader. With these new findings, the fossil record of New World grapes has been revised. (iStock)
The seeds found in Colombia, Panama and Peru could be between 19 and 60 million years old, according to the press release.
Dr Monica Carvalho, an assistant curator at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology and co-author of the study, said that years ago, dinosaurs likely felled trees as they moved through forests, eventually leading to the disappearance of ecosystems.
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“We think that if there were large dinosaurs roaming the forest, they were probably cutting down trees, making the forests more open than they are today,” she said in a press release.
Scientists have discovered that the oldest grape fossil in the Western Hemisphere is about 60 million years old. (SWNS)
However, after the dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago, plants grew back in parts of South America and trees formed nearby, Herrera said.
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“In the fossil record, we start to see more plants that use vines to climb trees, like grapevines, at this time,” he said.
He then explained why he wanted to find the “needle in a haystack” in South America.
Dr. Monica Carvalho, an assistant curator at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology and co-author of the new study, spotted the oldest grape fossil in what scientists called a needle-in-a-haystack discovery. (SWNS)
“I’ve been searching for the oldest grape variety in the Western Hemisphere since I was an undergraduate,” he said.
Herrera added that Carvalho was the one who discovered the first grape fossil.
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He said she shouted: “Fabiany, a grape!”
He said, as the press release states: “I looked at him (and) I thought, ‘Oh my God.'”
Grape fossils have been discovered for the first time in the Western Hemisphere — and dinosaurs may have something to do with it. (iStock/SWNS)
Carvalho also said, “By digging through the fossil record of the New World tropics, we found seeds related to the grape family dating back 60 million years. This led us to revise the fossil record of New World grapes,” according to the University of Michigan website.
She added: “The oldest seed we found is closely related to the large group that gave rise to commercial grapes, the subfamily Vitoideae.”
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“We have this rich, previously little-known fossil record of New World grapes, and what we’re seeing is that this family has a complex history of extinction and dispersal in the New World,” she also said, according to the same source.
The new study from South America traces the history of grapes in the Americas and the Caribbean. (iStock)
After performing CT scans, scientists were able to confirm the fossil based on its shape, size and other unique characteristics, according to the press release.
After the discovery of the first fossil, scientists discovered eight more new types of fossil grapes in the South American region.
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Carvalho said the new study delves deeper into the history of grapes in the Americas and the Caribbean, according to the University of Michigan website.
“There was a very big gap in grape fossils after the dinosaurs went extinct. About 50 million years ago, we saw grape fossils in North America and Europe,” she said.
“There was a very big gap in grape fossils after the dinosaurs went extinct,” said one of the study’s researchers. “About 50 million years ago, you find grape fossils in North America and Europe.” (iStock)
“When the planet was warmer, grapes were more common in the high northern latitudes, but we didn’t know much about the history of this group in tropical latitudes. That’s where our work comes in.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the study’s authors for additional comment.
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world.
There are now nearly 11,700 wineries in the United States.
California, the state with the largest population in the United States and the most wineries in the country, consumed the most wine in 2021, at more than 155 million gallons, according to VinePair, which also cites other sources.
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Florida comes in second, with 83.2 million gallons, followed by Texas, with 65.6 million gallons.
The United States is now home to nearly 11,700 wineries, according to Wines Vines Analytics’ Winery Database.