Cal Orcko
Cal Orcko (from the Quechua word Urqu Cal , "mountain of the Cal") near Sucre ( Departamento Chuquisaca , Bolivia ) is a palaeontologically significant site of dinosaur traces.
The former plain belonged to the bank mud of a lake, which could have served as a drinking place for the dinosaurs, and due to unfolding 13 million years ago, it is today inclined at a length of 1200 m by 73 ° and about 80 m high. The extraordinarily well-preserved traces can be assigned to at least 294 species that were left behind from the end of the Cretaceous to the beginning of the Tertiary . Traces of various sauropods (including titanosaurs ), theropods and ankylosaurs as well as other reptiles such as turtles and crocodiles have been identified.
It was not until 1994 that the prints were recognized as traces of prehistoric fauna. Today the site belongs to the quarry of a cement factory. An international team of researchers led by Christian Meyer found out in 1998 that the area was in danger of collapsing and is looking for ways to stabilize the area or the tracks. In March 2006, an information park opened nearby during the Cretaceous Period , with the income from which they want to support the preservation of the site.
See also
literature
- CA Meyer, D. Hippler, MG Lockley: The Late Cretaceous vertebrate immunities of Bolivia: facts and implications . VII International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems. In: Asociación Paleontológica Argentina. Publicación Especial . tape 7 , June 30, 2001, ISSN 0328-347X , p. 133-138 ( bs.ch [PDF]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dinosaur tracks in danger , September 5, 2003, 3sat.online