Two children found unpublished remains of a glyptodont in Mar del Plata

What they least imagined Bautista, 9, and Mia, 11 passing through the San Carlos beach in Mar del Plata, it was that they were going to receive paleontologists, when they were walking by the sea.

It’s just last Wednesday, the little brothers They made an incredible paleontological discovery: remains of one gliptodon (belonging to the species Plohophorus figuratus), in the sand. Together with his father Martín Aceña, they immediately advised Municipal Museum of Natural Sciences Lorenzo Scagliawho participated in the rescue of the discovered specimen.

The personnel of the Paleontology Laboratory began the rescue work -with the students of the Superior Technician in Paleontology of Miramar- after which part of the tail of the specimen was found. In addition, among the recovered parts, there is a caudal tube, vertebrae, caudal rings and some dorsal carapace plates.

Paleontologists from the Scaglia Museum report that the caudal tubes of these prehistoric battleships “are among the most beautiful pieces of glyptodonts, which can present different ornamental motifs (such as the animal footprint), which in the case of Plohophorus, bring out the rosettes composed of large, well-rounded figures surrounded by smaller polygonal figures”.

Additionally, they stated that “these rings allowed the glyptodonts to impart mobility to their tails, and thus to manipulate their medieval club for self-defense.” This is the first time that remains of caudal rings of this species of Glyptodont have been added to the Paleontology collection of the Scaglia Museum. “Generally, the community thinks that finds envision finding the complete skeletal structure of the specimen, when in fact it is parts or sections of it,” the experts said, adding that “finding a complete skeleton of any animal is extremely unlikely”. and therefore In general, from one find to another one completes a puzzle”.

The salvage work was carried out in extreme conditions generated by the high tide, with cliffs over 25 meters high that have at their base a small abrasion platform, where the Museum’s paleontology team has makes a base to work from.

Just a month ago Emilya 9-year-old girl, found the remains of two glyptodons between 2.5 and 3 million years old walking with his family along the beaches of the city of Buenos Aires Chapadmalal. After the discovery, his parents informed the professionals of the Municipal Museum of Natural Sciences Lorenzo Scaglia, who confirmed this Friday the news with a press release.

The genera of glyptodon found would, to date, be Eosclerocalyptus and Eleutherocercus. The first is small-scale, with a body mass of 450 kilograms, while the second triples its weight (1,500 kilograms), according to what spokespersons for the municipality of General Pueyrredón explained to the agency. EFE. In addition, a large number of scattered remains of rodents were found on site, “which are very good indicators of the age of the deposits and the environments that once existed”.

“Emilia found some bones that caught her attention. The parents quickly contacted us, sent us photos, and once we were able to see the skeletal remains, we went to the beach. When we arrived, we only had one glyptodon to extract because that was what we had seen at the start. But since the tide had fallen a lot and had withdrawn a little from the sand, it could be observed from the foot of the cliff. In the same place, moved about 10 meters towards the sea, we saw another glyptodont shell”, he said in dialogue with NT Matias Tagliorettimuseum paleontologist.

For this particular time segment, between 3 and 2.5 million years ago, researchers didn’t have many fossils, so These new materials fill a “small void” in the knowledge of these fearsome prehistoric beasts, which are akin to a giant earth armadillo and which are akin to the current mule, hairy and tatú cart. “These are very important discoveries in order to be able to understand the evolution of this large group of prehistoric mammals. The new discoveries are older animals than those usually found in the province of Buenos Aires,” explained the specialist.

Although the discovery of glyptodont remains was frequent at this time, those recovered from the southern cliffs of the city of Mar del Plata are “unique” because they show the glyptodonts of the time Pliocene (5.33 to 2.58 million years ago) which are very rare in other deposits.

Currently, Mar del Plata and adjacent areas have the most representative paleontological sites of the Late Cenozoic from all over South America.

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