Life

A fossil flower from one of life’s early bloomers, plus monkey business and shark cleanings in this week’s news

Early flowers
One of the oldest fossil sprigs of a flowering plant has turned up in a Chinese rock formation dating from 122.6 to 125.8 million years ago. Now named Leefructus mirus, the extinct species had jagged-edged, three-lobed leaves and five-part seed structures much like the modern buttercups and their relatives.