Pine trees and paleoartists

[Brandon Pilcher <trex_kid@hotmail.com>]

Why is it that paleoartists almost always decorate their Mesozoic landscapes 
with pine trees? I have always found this cliche irritating and 
aesthetically unattractive. If I recall correctly, the Mesozoic Era had a 
warm, almost tropical climate (although the polar regions appear to have 
experienced more temperate conditions), and yet from looking at 
paleoartists' depictions, you would think it was like Alaska or Sweden with 
all those pine forests. Are there tropical species of pine trees that I 
don't know about, because in my opinion, pine trees look seriously out of 
place in a landscape that's supposed to be hot and muggy.

Also, what's with the volcanoes smoking in the background?

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