(July 9, 2013 at 4:17 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Last I checked, we found some grass in fossils but didn't expect much to have been eaten, or much to have been "on the ground" so-to-speak" given that the lca of existent grasses (to the order of 90%) can't be pushed back any further than 70mya (as told by the genome-and as compared to the amount of fossilized flora that -isn't- grass). We still have the explosion of grass after kt (and again after our efforts). The effect on the scenery has to be truly considered to be appreciated.
What's changed? Linkety link. Love this stuff.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/310/5751/1177.short
Well, it must be pushed back beyond 70 million years, unless you think the cellular morphological features of advanced grass popped into existence fully developed 70 million years without a there having been a long line an ancester grasses before 70 million years ago in which it could develop.
