The pliosaur was a colossal sea monster from the Jurassic era and terrified the oceans 125 million years ago.
In the remote lands of Sáchica, Boyacá, an unprecedented discovery a few years ago put the country on the map of world paleontology: the fossil of the largest pliosaur ever found, a marine predator that ruled the oceans approximately 125 million years ago.
This discovery aroused great scientific and cultural interest. It was made by a team of paleontologists from the National University of Colombia in collaboration with the Center for Paleontological Research (CIP), and in 2018 it was described as a monumental discovery that would change the Understanding prehistoric marine reptiles.
This colossal pliosaur, with a skull measuring 3 meters and a total length that would reach 11 meters, was unearthed in the Arrayán village, a mountainous region of Sáchica.
The reptile, which inhabited the seas of the Lower Cretaceous, left experts speechless due to its impressive state of preservation.
María Páramo Fonseca, the project’s lead paleontologist, pointed out at the time that the fossil was almost intact, which allowed for a deeper study of its morphology and life habits.
Five days of excavation to unearth the pliosaur
The process of extracting the fossil was as impressive as the reptile itself. For five days, a backhoe removed huge chunks of rock to free the pliosaur remains.
With the support of local inhabitants and under the direction of Professor Páramo, a tunnel was carefully dug around the fossil, which was extracted in 14 blocks protected with plaster, using a precision paleontological technique.
These blocks were then moved to the Sáchica Community Action Board room, where scientists have been working on cleaning and analyzing the skeleton.
See: For the first time, scientists discover dinosaur fossils in Colombia
This discovery, initially recorded in 2009 during an exploration requested by Ecopetrol, required years of studies and the collaboration of various entities, including the National University and the Colombian Geological Service.
Throughout the process, the researchers compared the fossil with other pliosaurs discovered in different parts of the world, revealing that this specimen is significantly larger than those found in Australia, the United States and Europe.
However, it is important to note that a skull of pliosaurwas extracted from the cliffs of Dorset, in the south of England during December 2023.
Con información de Periódico UNAL.
