Venezuelan scientists unearth 100-million-year-old marine fossils in Tachira

A team of Venezuelan scientists has made a groundbreaking discovery in the state of Tachira, unearthing the fossilised remains of an ichthyosaur and a prehistoric fish estimated to be around 100 million years old. The find, dating back to the Cretaceous period, is the first record of these marine species in the region, reports teleSUR, a partner of TV BRICS.

The fossils were uncovered in La Grita and Lobatera, areas previously known for discoveries such as Tachiraptor and Laquintasaura, the earliest dinosaurs identified in northern South America. According to geoscientist Rodolfo Sanchez, the new findings provide fresh insight into the prehistoric biodiversity of the area.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro welcomed the discovery as a milestone for Venezuelan science. He noted that the remains include a juvenile ichthyosaur that could have reached up to 25 metres in adulthood, “ancestors of modern dolphins,” as he described them. 

The project involved collaboration between the Ministry for Science and Technology, the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, and the National Experimental University Francisco de Miranda.

The China Daily, a partner of TV BRICS, reported that scientists in China have discovered a new species of dinosaur in Wuding County, Yunnan Province. It is the oldest sauropodomorph ever found in East Asia, estimated to be around 200 million years old.

In Kazakhstan’s Akmola Region, the lower jaw and a bone of a woolly mammoth have been unearthed. According to preliminary analysis, the remains belonged to an animal aged between 40 and 50 years that lived approximately 40,000 to 15,000 years ago, according to  Kazinform, a partner of TV BRICS.

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