With thepublication of his seminal work, The Origin of Species, Darwin solved what theastronomer and one of the greatest scientists of the time, John Herschel,called the “mystery of mysteries”: extinct species of living beings had beenreplaced by others through a process of natural selection. But Darwin leftother very important mysteries unsolved. Specifically, the “abominable mystery”— the enigmatic origin and initial evolution of flowering plants — has remainedwithout a clear answer through the present day. The recent discovery of asubmerged continent east of Australia, ZEALANDIA could play a part in solving the puzzle thatfirst faced Darwin 140 years ago…. There are twofundamental reasons why researchers suggest that Zealandia may be the region ofEarth where angiosperms originated and initially diversified — theirdisembarkation point to the rest of the world…… Ultimately, ifall of this is true, Darwin would have been correct with his idea that theangiosperms did not suddenly appear. The studies that are underway in Zealandiamight fill in the last pieces of the puzzle…..
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