Clarkia fossil beds
The Clarkia fossil beds (also known locally as the Fossil Bowl) is a Miocene Latah Formation lagerstätte near Clarkia, Idaho.
The fossil beds were laid down in a
Columbia River Plateau. Narrow and deep, the lake's cold, anoxic water and rapid sedimentation created perfect fossil conditions. The basin itself has remained tectonically stable, with little deformation since then. The fossils indicate that the region's climate was much warmer and wetter than today's, and similar to that of southern Florida.[1][2]
Though a number of animal species have been found, the Clarkia fossil beds site is best known for its fossil
oxidizing in air.[1][2] It has been reported that scientists have managed to isolate small amounts of ancient DNA from fossil leaves from this site.[3] However, other scientists are skeptical of the validity of this reported occurrence of Miocene DNA. They have interpreted the DNA that has been recovered from these leaf fossils as contamination, probably from bacterial sources.[4][5][6]
References
- ^ a b Anonymous( 2006) Digging Up Ancient Treasures in Clarkia. New West, August Publications.
- ^ a b Rember WC (2007) The Clarkia Flora of northern Idaho. University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.
- American Journal of Botany. 91(4):615-620.
- ^ Lindahl, T (1993) Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNA. Nature. 362:709–715.
- ^ Sidow, A, AC Wilson, and S and Paabo (1991) Bacterial DNA in Clarkia fossils. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B. 333:429–433.
- ^ Balmer AJ (2013) Jurassic Park and the Race for Ancient DNA. Guest Blog, August 1, 2013, Scientific American.
46°59′32″N 116°16′35″W / 46.9923°N 116.2764°W
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