Article 4ZTBW Tiny Chinese seaweed is oldest green plant fossil ever found

Tiny Chinese seaweed is oldest green plant fossil ever found

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Reuters
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Proterocladus antiquus carpeted seafloor 1bn years ago and was size of rice grain

Scientists have found in rocks from northern China what may be the oldest fossils of a green plant ever found: tiny seaweed that carpeted areas of the seafloor 1bn years ago and were part of a primordial revolution among life on Earth.

Researchers on Monday said the plant, called Proterocladus antiquus, was about the size of a rice grain and boasted numerous thin branches, thriving in shallow water while attached to the seafloor with a root-like structure.

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