Fossil bones of mastodon unearthed in Chihuahua

It is a large piece of fossils scattered throughout a large area, so it will take a long time to gather them. A deposit of fossil bones of a mastodon was discovered in the Ejido Conchos, municipality of Saucillo.

The find is located about nine kilometers from Estación Conchos, specifically on the land owned by citizen Javier Moreno. They were discovered and identified on January 20, 2019, by the engineer Juan Arreola, who said it is still too early to have most of the particular data on the specimens found.

He indicated that it is certain to have found fossils of a mastodon, but there are also other fossils corresponding to another species not yet identified, probably some type of carnivorous dinosaur, judging by some fossils of fangs and claws. The certainty that it is a mastodon and not a mammoth, is the characteristic that makes the main difference between the two: the presence of conical-shaped teeth that gives the distinctive name to the mastodons.

The engineer Arreola has found other similar niches of fossils in other areas of the same hills, so it can be said that we are facing a true paleontological park that includes practically the entire region of Tortuguillas, which covers approximately 300 hectares from the Ejido Conchos until the militarized side of Naica.

He pointed out that it is a large fragment of fossils scattered throughout a large area, so it will take a long time to gather them and aspire to form even a complete skeleton, like a great prehistoric puzzle, but it highlights the importance of preservation and diffusion of the paleontological heritage of the municipality.

It is expected to have the collaboration of the corresponding specialized entities, for the identification, classification, and adequate handling of the material, for its future exhibition within the same municipality of Saucillo.