BUENOS AIRES (CTYS).- Neighbors and students from schools in these municipalities took turns to excavate and form a perimeter around a glyptodont, this being done under the careful watch of paleontologist Martin de los Reyes from Museo de La Plata and David Piazza, who is in charge of the repository in Marcos Paz.

Piazza expressed enthusiasm for the participation of the community for the recuperation of the fossils: “Today a lot of people came, and kids were able to walk through the site. Not only is this valuable because they can learn, but also because they help us do in one day things that would otherwise take a whole week to do”.

The tasks necessary to rescue this 30 thousand year old mammal with the appearance of a giant armadillo started last Saturday and will be finished within the next few days.

Paleontologist Martin de los Reyes added that the rescue task is very advanced. “We are leaving about 10 to 12 centimeters of sediment round the shell of the animal; afterwards, we will make a plaster cover so that the fossil will not be easily broken when it’s extracted and taken to the laboratory”, he explained.

The investigator coincided that “thanks to the community that has reached out and helped, we can advance with this excavation very rapidly, although we still have another few days of work”.

Students from two schools in La Matanza have participated in the rescue. Professor Emiliano Beis said that this was the first time his students visited the site. “The intention of this lesson is so the kids can see work in this particular scientific field and by playing they can participate in something that maybe they thought was inaccessible to them”.

Also, Professor Alejandro Orellana added that the idea is to help conserve the species that are being found and fight for the creation of a paleontological reserve”.

During a tour of the site, David Piazza also allows students and the community to look at other species that are turning up from the sediments: “Up there you can observe a fragment of the hip of a Macrauchenia which inhabited this area maybe some 10 thousand years ago. This was an animal similar to a camel without a hump and with a snout similar to a tapir”.

In another area of the site, Piazza revealed what they had under plaster and thin paper that had just been set up: “Under this cover we have part of a skeleton of a bird that lived 30 years ago. It was very interesting to rescue it since it’s quite uncommon and very well preserved, with part of his skeleton still jointed”.