The organic remains of the 1.5-meter-long chelonians, of a species known as Puentemys mushaisaensis, had previously only been located in the rocks of the coal mines in El Cerrejón, in the far north of the nation.
According to experts from the Universidad del Rosario, the academic institution that led the research, the discovery of the fossils allows us to better understand the connectivity of the aquatic environments of northern South America during the geological eras of the Paleocene and Eocene, about 57 years ago. millions of years.
According to Edwin Cadena, paleontologist and professor at the university’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, the discovery of the turtles 500 kilometers south of where they had been found before allows us to reconstruct and understand what the landscapes of the region were like.
He explained that instead of the current Andean mountains of up to more than five thousand meters above sea level, in that area there were connected lakes and mountain ranges of very low altitude through which the chelonians moved without major obstacles.
The discovery of Puentemys mushaisaensis fossils in Socha confers importance to the department of Boyacá in terms of paleontological heritage, strengthens the commitment to scientific tourism for the area and is an incentive for the development of heritage protection and management plans in that territory. according to the expert.
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