Surprise discovery: Ranch call leads to ancient forest preserved for 50 million years

A remarkable discovery in Argentina's Patagonia region has unearthed a petrified forest containing 13 fossilized tree trunks, estimated to be around 50 million years old. The find occurred on a ranch near Pilcaniyeu, an area known for its arid landscape, revealing a stark contrast to the region's ancient past.

The discovery stemmed from a report by a local ranch owner about potential fossilized remains. Specialists from the Paleontological Association of Bariloche, assisted by the National Gendarmerie's environmental patrol, investigated the site. With the property owner's permission, researchers confirmed the presence of fossilized conifer and angiosperm trunks.

Preliminary analysis indicates the fossils date back to the Eocene epoch (approximately 56 to 34 million years ago). During this period, Patagonia experienced significantly warmer and wetter climates, supporting extensive forests unlike its present-day steppe environment. These fossilized remnants provide a valuable window into the region's lost ecosystems and offer new avenues for research into Patagonia's environmental evolution.

Experts believe studying these ancient species could illuminate the environmental transition between Patagonia's mountainous sectors and its plains. The discovery site's location, where mountains and basalt plateaus converge, is particularly significant for analyzing ecosystems that developed in a complex and dynamic geographical setting. The preservation of these trunks over millions of years is attributed to rapid burial by sediments, a geological process crucial for fossilization.