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Cycads not ‘living fossils’

Modern members of the plant group date back a mere 12 million years

By Nick Bascom

- More than 2 years ago

Once thought to be the last remaining members of a plant lineage that went extinct with the dinosaurs, modern-day cycads are now believed to have diverged from a more recent common ancestor.

Genetic analysis suggests that modern-day cycads like Cycas thouarsii (shown) are not “living fossils” of the dinosaur era, but arose from a common ancestor that lived about 12 million years ago.