by AFP
Researchers have so far recovered 49 bone pieces including a femur, vertebrae and ribs from the mastodon and giant sloth
Researchers in Costa Rica have unearthed fossils from a mastodon and a giant sloth that lived as many as 40,000 years ago, officials announced Friday, calling it the biggest such find here in decades.
The National Museum said the bones were found by accident on private property in Cartago province of the Central American country, east of the capital San Jose.
"Preliminary studies based on geological analysis of the terrain and the different layers of soil indicate the remains could be between 10,000 and 40,000 years old," the museum said in a statement.
Researchers have so far recovered 49 bone pieces including a femur, vertebrae and ribs, it added.
The museum called the find of the elephant relative and the ancestor of today's slow-moving tree-dwellers with long, curved claws "one of the most relevant" in Costa Rica in decades.
The fossils will be exhibited in the National Museum, Culture and Youth Minister Jorge Rodriguez said.
jjr/hma/cr/dw
© Agence France-Presse
Reference
Provided by AFP
※ Picks respects the rights of all copyright holders. If you do wish to make material edits, you will need to run them by the copyright holder for approval.
more from
AFP
The secret to an elephant's grace? Whiskers
AFP
Japan's 'godless' lake warns of creeping climate change
AFP
'World copper rush promises new riches for Zambia'
AFP
Madagascar cyclone death toll rises to 40, water, power still out
The Conversation
Italy hosted the Winter Olympics 70 years ago. What was it like, and what's changed?
AFP
'One of Lima's top beaches to close Sunday over pollution'
Knowable Magazine
'The cataclysmic flood that wasn't'
AllblancTV
The Ultimate Vacation Workout: Stay Fit While Traveling (Part 1/2)
AFP
'One of Lima's top beaches to close Sunday over pollution'
AFP
France bets on nuclear power to phase out fossil fuels
AFP
China carbon emissions 'flat or falling' in 2025: analysis
AFP
WHO urges US to share Covid origins intel
Share TodayStory content on social media.
Go Home
Go to channel