The resting place of ancient armadillos that roamed the earth some 20,000 years ago has been discovered in Argentina.
A farmer stumbled upon the graveyard containing fossilized shells of four massive Glyptodonts, with the largest being the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.
The resting place of ancient armadillos that roamed the earth some 20,000 years ago has been discovered in Argentina. A farmer stumbled upon the graveyard containing fossilized shells of four massive Glyptodonts, with the largest being the size of a Volkswagen Beetle
Juan de Dios Sota made the discovery while taking his cows out to graze near a river, Metro reported.
The shells were discovered in a dried-out riverbed near the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires – at first only two were spotted, but two more were found while paleontologists excavated the site. Researchers believe the group consist of two adults and two young animals, but further testing will determine cause of death, sex and weight of the remains
Pablo Messineo, one of the archaeologists at the scene, said: ‘We went there expecting to find two glyptodonts when the excavation started and then two more were found!’ ‘It is the first time there have been four animals like this in the same site.’ ‘Most of them were facing the same direction, like they were walking towards something’
The group discovered in Argentina are believed to be two adults and two young animals, but experts are set to conduct further testing to determine the age, sex and cause of death for each of the fossilized Glyptodonts
The fossils were discovered in a riverbed by a farmer who was simply taking his cows out to graze
The body shell alone was as long as 5 feet and as thick as two inches. It used its tail as a weapon – like a club – as the tip had a bony knob at the end that was sometimes spiked (pictured)
A separate fossilized shell was discovered in 2015 by another farmer in Argentina.
Glyptodonts are the early ancestors of our modern armadillos that lived mostly across North and South America during the Pleistocene epoch
At first, Mr Nievas thought the black scaly shell was a dinosaur egg when he saw it in the mud, his wife Reina Coronel said.
A separate fossilized shell was discovered in 2015 by another farmer in Argentina (pictured). The 3 feet long shell discovered on a riverbank near a local farm may be from a glyptodont – a prehistoric kind of giant armadillo