They find in Río Negro a giant land sloth of 3.000.000 years

After the complaint of the discovery of fossils in the Pozo Salado area, made by Environmental Guards, the Undersecretary of Heritage and Cultural Cooperation under the Secretary of State for Culture, launched the protocol for the care, preservation and recovery of paleontological heritage discovered.

The discovery of prehistoric paleontological material currently being recovered in the Pozo Salado Protected Natural Area corresponds to an animal from the group of giant ground sloths, estimated to be around three million years old . The material is particularly interesting because it is unprecedented, as it is a very complete fossil, including the skull, jaws, spine, part of the pelvis, and limbs. Many of these parts of the animal, and in such a state of preservation, were previously unknown.

From the mega mammal, probably related to the genus Pyramiodonttherium from the Pliocene age, two humeri (part of the arms), skull and jaws could be rescued, which will be housed in one of the provincial repositories for study. By discovering this complete specimen, part of the anatomy and a certain aspect of the face that has not been known until now can be known, which will allow us to know the lifestyle and activity in terms of the ecology of the animal and obtain a lot of information.

Currently, 25 percent of the fossil recovery project has been completed , and a large portion will remain in place for future exploration. This future exploration will need to be organized according to the rigorous safety protocols required, as the work is being carried out on the edge of a cliff. Consequently, the exploration and recovery efforts were led by Mario Mora of the ECOSOAM Foundation. Initially, the stability of the ground was assessed, along with the potential for human vulnerability. A series of anchors were then installed, given that the paleontologists would be working approximately 70 meters above sea level.

In this case, the request for the necessary permits was carried out, framed in Law 3041, which allows action on site and the subsequent location and verification of what was reported. Once the discovery was confirmed, the arrival of researchers from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, from the National University of Córdoba and height safety experts belonging to the ECOSOAM Foundation (Ecosystem, Society and Environment)

Rubén Juarez, member of the Undersecretary of Heritage and Cultural Cooperation, was in charge of coordinating the arrival of the professionals and thus forming the interdisciplinary team that was made up of Juarez himself; Luciano Bambrilla, PhD in Biological Sciences of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario; José Augusto Haro, PhD in Biological Sciences of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Rubén Juarez -all experts in paleontology-; Mario Mora, Speleologist and mountain guide, president of the ECOSOAM Foundation; Laura Lund, History Professor and Archeology student at the National University of Córdoba and Lautaro Boari, Technician at the Icho Cruz Museum.