April 2022 – Issue 4(2) - When Canada had palm tree fringed tropical beaches - What you need to know

During the Late Cretaceous Drs Greenwood (left) and West (right) in front of a large specimen of the Period—about 90 to 66 million years ago—dinosaurs extinct imperial palm, Phoenicites imperialis, on the Vancouver Island walked amongst palm trees across much of the world University campus, Nanaimo. [...] This study extends the record of fossil Arecaceae to Why this research is important include Alberta and Saskatchewan and also refines our What was Canada like when dinosaurs roamed Alberta, understanding of a previously known giant palm that British Columbia, and Saskatchewan? Often, paleo-art of grew on the coast of what is now Vancouver Island. [...] What the researchers found Palm fronds from western Canada are the The palm fossils from Alberta and Saskatchewan are fan- northernmost palms from the Late Cretaceous of palms (Sabalites species), in contrast to the pinnate palms North America and may include the oldest Arecaceae. [...] Additional financial support for this palms in the Late Cretaceous of Alberta and Saskatchewan research was from the University of Adelaide to John Conran. [...] More like a beach today in Mexico, Hawaii, or the This summary is supported by the Office of Research Caribbean than in Ontario, BC, or Nova Scotia! Services, the Centre for Aboriginal and Rural Education How this research can be used Studies, and the federally funded Research Support Fund.