Dinos pushed up daisies, according ABC News in Science 11 August 2015 and PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1423653112. A group of scientists from Argentina, New Zealand and UK have found fossil pollen grains in rocks from the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The pollen belongs to the plant family Asteraceae, the group that includes asters, daisies, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, dandelions, and gerberas.
The researcher team described their discovery: “Here we report the discovery of pollen grains unambiguously assigned to Asteraceae that remained buried in Antarctic deposits for more than 65 million years along with other extinct groups (e.g. Dinosaurs, Ammonites). Our discovery drastically pushes back the assumed origin of Asteraceae, because these pollen grains are the oldest fossils ever found for the family”.
The rocks containing the pollen grains are dated as 66-76 million years old. The pollen has been identified as belonging to an extinct species named Tubulifloridites lillei.
The scientists also comment in the summary of their research: “Asteraceae (or Compositae) are regarded as one of the most influential families in the diversification and evolution of a large number of animals that heavily depends on their inflorescences to survive (e.g. bees, hummingbirds, wasps)”.
Editorial Comment: If we can recognise these as pollen grains of the aster or daisy type of plant and label it Tubulifloridites lillei, then the find is evidence that Asteraceae, have always been some kind of Asteraceae, and have never been any other kinds of plant, so they have definitely multiplied after their kind even though some of them have died out.
The comment that Asteraceae influenced the evolution of bees, hummingbirds, wasps and other creatures is just a piece of evolutionary wishful thinking. Many creatures do feed on pollen, nectar and seeds produced by Asteraceae, and in turn pollinate the plants and distribute seeds, but the presence of flowers is not going to change insects or birds that were not bees or hummingbirds into bees and hummingbirds. The mutually beneficial relationship between flowering plants and insects, birds and animals only works if the plants and animals both came into existence within days of one another in their fully functional states, just as Genesis tells us. (Ref. palynology, flowers, botany, palaeobotany)
Evidence News vol. 15, No. 16
16 September 2015
Creation Research Australia