Grapes and wines existence was possible due to dinosaurs, revealed new study

Grapes and Wine (Representative Image - Canva)

In South America (Western Hemisphere), there are around nine fossils of new species of grapes have been discovered by Paleobotanists. These fossilized seeds are found in three places that are Colombia, Panama, and Peru.

A study done by scientists has revealed that the death of the dinosaurs and the seed's fossil discovery help in understanding how the grape family spread.

These discovered nine new species with the oldest grape plant fossil belonging to the Vitoideae subfamily—similar to modern commercial grapes based on 60- to 19-million-year-old fossil seeds discovered in four Neotropical paleofloras. The earliest fossil found dates back to around 66 million years around the time when the asteroid hit the Earth that caused the extinction.

Dr Fabiany Herrera, an assistant curator of palaeobotany at Chicago's Field Museum and also the study lead author, said: “These are the oldest grapes ever found in this part of the world, and they’re a few million years younger than the oldest ones ever found on the other side of the planet."

He further added in his statement and said, "This discovery is important because it shows that after the extinction of the dinosaurs, grapes really started to spread across the world."

There is a tiny fossil seed that was named Lithouva susmanii is said to have great importance, study co-author Dr Gregory Stull said "This new species is also important because it supports a South American origin of the group in which the common grape vine Vitis evolved.”

When dinosaurs disappeared during the end-Cretaceous extinction event, around 66 million years ago, it significantly altered the tropical forests of the New World. This change created new rainforests, providing an opportunity for many plant and animal groups to diversify.

Dr. Herrera has described how the fossils managed to adapt and survive in another part of the world and said, “The fossil record tells us that grapes are a very resilient order."

He further added, "They're a group that has suffered a lot of extinction in the Central and South American region, but they also managed to adapt and survive in other parts of the world."

After the dinosaurs went extinct, grapevines expanded their range. The ancestor of today’s commercial grapes likely originated in the New World, specifically in the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean.

Just like mammals, grapevines had room to evolve after the dinosaur extinction. This allowed them to spread across the world, eventually leading to the grapes we use for winemaking today.