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Article: Australia Forest Reveals Living Fossil
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- December 15, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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SYDNEY, Australia David Noble was out on a holiday hike when he
stepped off the beaten path and into the prehistoric age.
Venturing into an isolated grove in a rain forest preserve 125
miles from Sydney, the Parks and Wildlife Service officer suddenly
found himself in a real-life Jurassic Park - standing amid trees
thought to have disappeared 150 million years ago.
"The discovery is the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur
still alive on Earth," said Carrick Chambers, director of the Royal
Botanic Gardens.
To botanists, discovery of the 39 pines is "off the planet," he
said Wednesday.
"This is probably one of the most significant botanical finds of
this century. It's a very ...