Everyone can picture the dense modern tropical jungles. The canopies of huge green trees intertwine, forming a natural dome. Everywhere there is semi-darkness. From above, strange lianas hang down. The air is warm and heavy, filled with moisture and odd aromas. And in any corner, some unknown creature may be lurking...

However, such forests, which science calls "rainforest tropical," did not form immediately. The first real jungles will appear on Earth only at the beginning of the Cenozoic era. Until then, tropical forests looked quite different. The ancient trees of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic had significantly smaller crowns and did not form a unified canopy. This means that the forests were noticeably brighter, more reminiscent of today's cheerful sunny forests of the temperate zone, rather than mysterious dark jungles. There was no clear stratification - the vegetation was mainly limited to large trees and grasses growing under their mighty branches.

But, of course, there were...