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This was reported by the press service of the Risaralda Regional Autonomous Corporation (Carder), quoted by the AFP agency.
Since this disappeared species of mammals moved in herds, it is likely that more remains will be found, the entity added.
The remains were found several days ago by artisan workers who were exploring a sinkhole 20 meters deep, in the Cauca Canyon, in the municipality of Quinchía.
“There was like a landslide, but a little, and there the first bone fell,” said Fernando Tabariquino, quoted in a statement from the environmental authority.
The miners were able to remove 10 to 12 bones from the animal, including a 1.10 meter long tusk,Before local authorities suspended the excavation due to the scientific interest of the find.
Later, the Colombian Institute of Archeology and Anthropology took over the extraction of fossil remains.
Mastodon remains found in Colombia
The mastodon is a proboscide, a first cousin of today’s elephants, extinct about 10,000 years ago in this area of northern South America.
“We found something extraordinary and out of the imagination!” Exclaimed Julio César Gómez, director of Carder, in a video to the media.
Although there are previous similar discoveries on the Atlantic coast and the center of the country, this is the first of its kind in western Colombia.
“It will allow us to determine many aspects of the climate, of the megafauna we had in this area” and also to understand a part of why “these species disappeared,” added Gómez.
In 2019, archaeologists found in the Eje Cafetero a 2,000-year-old human treasure that consisted of 68 complete ceramic pieces, 1,209 stone objects, a gold nose ring and 14 tombs, several of them in perfect condition.
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