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9-Million-Year-Old Capybara Tooth Challenges Atacama Desert History
Confirmed
In Short: Scientists have discovered a fossilized tooth from a capybara, the world's largest rodent, in northern Chile's Atacama Desert, dating back almost 9 million years.
The tooth, described in a study published in Scientific Reports, is the first and oldest record of a capybara in coastal Chile, where none live today.
Lead author Priscilla Martinez, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, described the find as 'freakish,' given the Atacama Desert's current status as one of the driest regions on Earth.
The capybara's reliance on water and wetland plants makes its presence in the Atacama Desert an unexpected discovery, challenging the long-held belief that the region has been continuously dry for about 40 million years.
Researchers recovered the tooth from a three-foot-thick sediment bed at El Morro in northern Chile, an area where local residents had long noted fossils of animals not found in the desert today.
The find suggests that the Atacama Desert was once a much wetter environment, supporting the presence of capybaras.
This discovery provides new insights into the historical climate and ecology of the Atacama Desert, indicating that the region may have undergone significant changes over millions of years.
What this adds
The tooth's presence challenges previous assumptions about the Atacama Desert's long-term dryness, suggesting a more varied climatic history.
While the tooth offers a glimpse into the past, scientists have not yet determined the full extent of the environmental changes that allowed capybaras to inhabit the region.
What's confirmed
- The tooth, described in a study published in Scientific Reports, is the first and oldest record of a capybara in coastal Chile, where none live today.
- Lead author Priscilla Martinez, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, described the find as 'freakish,' given the Atacama Desert's current status as one of the driest regions on Earth.
- The capybara's reliance on water and wetland plants makes its presence in the Atacama Desert an unexpected discovery, challenging the long-held belief that the region has been continuously dry for about 40 million years.
- Researchers recovered the tooth from a three-foot-thick sediment bed at El Morro in northern Chile, an area where local residents had long noted fossils of animals not found in the desert today.
- The find suggests that the Atacama Desert was once a much wetter environment, supporting the presence of capybaras.
- This discovery provides new insights into the historical climate and ecology of the Atacama Desert, indicating that the region may have undergone significant changes over millions of years.
What's still developing
- Chile’s Atacama Desert is an unlikely place to find traces of capybaras, the world’s largest living rodents, whose lives revolve around water and wetland plants.
- Yet a fossilized tooth places one there almost 9 million years ago, suggesting that this parched stretch of coast once offered a much wetter home.
- Scientists uncover the unexpected colours of Mars after a spacecraft reveals a rare purple ice world hidden near the planet’s southern pole.
- Taken by the spacecraft’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), the view offers an unusual perspective of a planet usually associated with rusty deserts.
- ESA scientists attribute the unusual appearance of Thyles Rupes to a combination of soft morning light, dust particles suspended in the atmosphere and frost covering large areas of the terrain.