Paleontologists in Argentina have announced the discovery
of a major Jurassic-era fossil site four years after it was first
discovered.
The site, which
spans 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) in Patagonia,
southern Argentina, came to light this week with the publication of a
report in the journal Ameghiniana.
"No
other place in the world contains the same amount and diversity of
Jurassic fossils," said geologist Juan Garcia Massini of the Regional
Center for Scientific Research and Technology Transfer (CRILAR).
The
fossils -- between 140 and 160 million years old -- lie on the surface
because they were recently exposed by erosion, said Garcia Massini, who
leads the research team investigating the site.
"You
can see the landscape as it appeared in the Jurassic -- how thermal
waters, lakes and streams as well as plants and other parts of the
ecosystem were distributed," he said.
The fossils were preserved almost immediately, in less than a day in some cases.
"You
can see how fungi, cyanobacteria and worms moved when they were alive,"
Garcia Massini said of the site that lies along the Deseado Massif
mountain range.
Ignacio
Escapa of the Egidio Feruglio Paleontology Museum said the researchers
had found "a wide range of micro and macro-organisms."
The
fossils are so well preserved, that researchers say each rock extracted
from the site could possibly open the door to a new discovery.
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