An extraordinary discovery occurred in recent days when it was confirmed that remains found in 2023 in a cenote in Yucatan correspond to a giant sloth, a specimen that is estimated to be 7 to 10 thousand years old.
This is the first discovery of this species in our state since other cases have been documented in flooded caves in Quintana Roo and Belize, but it had never occurred in Yucatan.
It is a set of fossils with bone remains of the giant sloth, such as a proximal humerus, vertebrae, radius, and femur.
In August 2023, these remains were found by experts Arnaldo Marucco and Cristian Selun during an exploration in the Dzombakal cenote, located in the San Antonio Mulix district of Umán.
It was discovered that the remains were at a depth of between 17 and 20 meters underwater, about 30 meters from the entrance of the cenote. Later, the paleontologist Jerónimo Avilés Olguín dedicated himself to identifying the species of the remains.
These fossils would be at least between 7 and 10 thousand years old (during the last glaciation), which makes this discovery extraordinary.
Likewise, remains of a horse belonging to the species Equus conversidens were identified, a common equine in the Pleistocene of North America.
TYT Newsroom
