The sites, mainly in Bolivia, Argentina and Southern Brazil, have yielded fossils of tremendous importance to paleontologists and dinosaur fans worldwide. The finds range from this reconstructed Santanaraptor, who in life was a carnivore standing around two-and-a-half feet tall, measuring about six feet from head to tail and weighing about 65 pounds, to the huge 100-ton Argentinosaurus, considered by some experts to be the largest dinosaur ever recorded, to the more recent discovery of a new as yet unnamed and unclassified dinosaur thought to be 27 feet longer than that.
Dinosaurs have been the stuff of movies for years, usually depicting to-the-death battles with early species or destroying cavemen and modern man with equal fervor. Thanks now to the increasing amount of knowledge gained from the study of Fossils Found In South America, scientists are learning new facts, many of which disprove earlier held theories.
Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina is a paleontologically rich site, with numerous finds of dinosaurs and like species.
There are more finds in Patagonia, shared by Argentina and Chile, Bolivia and Southern Brazil. The landscape looks far different now than it did in the Jurassic period, when the supercontinent Pangaea drifted apart and slowly evolved into the world as we know it now. Then, before the Andes grew, the terrain was level and marshy, able to support huge animals. Now, news stories like New, Unknown Dinosaur Found in Bolivia bring attention to the way the earth's surface has changed over the centuries.
Scientists recently discovered volcanic formations in Brazil's Amazon Basin that correlate with volcanic formations in West Africa, Spain, and North America and this caused the breakup of Pangaea and a mass extinction of marine and reptile species, leaving dinosaurs to fill the void.
The fossil sites aren't recent discoveries in all locations. In many cases, local residents knew of the bones, thought nothing of them and went about their business. In some places, local lore developed about strange beasts and sightings that equaled the Loch Ness monster and became South America's Mokele-Mbembe.
The exploration of the many fossil areas gives rise to new demands for scientists, government protection of the area and controlled access for those who'd like to explore on their own and take home a memento or two. The question arises: how to investigate the fossil finds, satisfy curiosity, increase funding for further exploration, protect the sites and manage the increasing number of people who want to see for themselves?
I don't know the answers, but I do know this: I'm eagerly awaiting the next find!
