3D model of a fossilised fruit (NHMW-GEO-2024/0188/10422)

<p>This is a 3D model of a fossilised fruit originally described by F.V. Müller in 1871 as <i>Plesiocapparis prisca</i>. It dates back to the Cenozoic age.&nbsp;Fruits like this are extremely rare in the fossil record, especially since it has not undergone distortion during burial. We do not yet know which plant group this species belongs to, but likely represents an extinct lineage of flowering plants. Some examples of this extinct species have been found with the seeds found still inside. It was recovered from sediments of middle Cenozoic age from the gold fields of Victoria (southeastern Australia) during the gold rush of the middle 1800s.</p><p>This object is part of the historical ‘Ettingshausen collection’, which is on permanent loan from the Institute of Biology, University of Graz.</p>