Proyecto Dino

This weekend for Sandro's birthday we visited the Academy of Natural Sciences, Drexel University's museum and fossil lab here in Philadelphia. There, we met two young women who had the opportunity to work on the Argentinosaurus found in Patagonia! We saw the 3 foot long femur and some of the vertebrae up close while they were skillfully chipping away at the crud that had been attached to these bones for tens of millions of years.

Dinosaurs 230 million years old and weighing 60 tons have been excavated in Patagonia, the southern most province of Argentina. These are the biggest and oldest dinosaur fossils ever found! With an excellent preservation climate, this region has produced fossils of creatures called Giganotosaurus, Titanosaurus, and Argentinosaurus. The city of Neuquén, in its public excavation site, has unearthed thirty dinosaurs, carnivores and herbivores, and their bowling ball sized eggs since the 1990s. We can even go there and see the dinos ourselves! The paleontologists at this national interest site allow visitors and are available to answer questions, explain their techniques, give tours of the site, and even put people up for the night. Has anyone been to Lake Barreales or worked with Project Dino?