Extreme Paleontology in Chile's Patagonia [Slide Show]
Since 2012 the northern hills and valleys of Chile’s Patagonia region began to reveal themselves as the most important paleontological site in that country
Extreme Paleontology in Chile's Patagonia [Slide Show]
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EL PUESTO CAMPGROUND Each year, more than 25 experts from Chile, Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Japan gather here to work in paleomagnetism, stratigraphy, pollen, plants, dinosaurs and marine reptiles. Ángela Posada-Swafford
GUANACOS Researchers must drive several hours from Puerto Natales to Estancia Cerro Guido, then drive a jeep on a dirt road to Las Chinas post. From then on, it is a six-hour walk to the El Puesto excavation site, crossing hilly tussocks and small streams. Pablo Ruiz, INACH
CAMPGROUNDS AT NIGHT Spring temperatures vary wildly, between 0.5 to 26 degrees Celsius; snow and gale-force winds can ravage the mountain slopes for hours. Pablo Ruiz, INACH
MARCELO LEPPE According to Marcelo Leppe, chief scientist at the Chilean Antarctic Institute, the land bridges that used to connect Antarctica and South America not only were corridors for the exchange of organisms but also places where species might have evolved. Pablo Ruiz, INACH
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OUTCROP AND CONGLOMERATE A conglomerate in the upper part of the sequence supports theories that the sea level fell several times, following consecutive pulses of cold 73 million, 70 million and 68 million years ago, forming intermittent land bridges between South America and Antarctica. Pablo Ruiz, INACH
HADROSAUR FOOT BONE? Pieces of fossil, like this possible hadrosaur foot bone, show that these are the southernmost dinosaurs discovered so far on the continent. Ángela Posada-Swafford
LEPPE AND THIÉRS Paleobotanists Leppe (right), at INACH, and Thiérs Wilberger, at the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil. Ángela Posada-Swafford
ANTARCTIC DIG SITES The sub-Antarctic Islands and the James Ross Basin are among the best fossil repositories on the ice-locked continent. INACH/Posada-Swafford
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CHILEAN DIG SITES The Chilean excavation sites are a few kilometers from the border with Argentina. INACH/Posada-Swafford
PATAGONIAN NOTHOFAGUS These Patagonian <em>Nothofagus</em> leaves are 68 million years old, the oldest on the continent, and are very similar to those living today in the forests of southern South America. Pablo Ruiz, INACH
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