ancient giant sloth tunnels

By P. NATASHA / 9th November 2020 . Image: S. Rae/Flickr. He and his colleagues believe that there could be several genera such as Catonyx, Glossotherium and the massive, several-ton Lestodon, that once lived in South America and whose fossil remains suggest adaptation for serious digging, while the others believe that there could be extinct armadillos as well, … First published on June 2, 2017 / 3:13 PM. Your email address will not be published. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. s.src = p + "://api.content-ad.net/Scripts/widget2.aspx?" d: "bG9vazR3YXJkLmNvLnVr", The sloths grew up to 10 feet in length and weighed up to 1,500 pounds. The extinct giant sloth … These giant sloths went extinct between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago. But even the giant armadillos don't measure up to the biggest of the tunnels. He at the time, was working on a general survey of the Amazonian state of Rondonia and after asking around, he eventually found a gaping hole on a wooded slope, which was a few miles north of the Bolivian border. But then there's the massive claw marks that line the walls and ceilings - it's now thought that an extinct species of giant ground sloth is behind at least some of these so-called palaeoburrows. (function(d) { + qs.join('&'); Some are simple shafts while others are complicated works of underground engineering, with branching passages that twist and turn to form networks—the longest stretching 130 feet from end to end. The largest Tunnels Dug by Massive Sloths measured 2,000 feet long, 6 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide. LOS ANGELES — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. Before Adamy, another Brazilian geologist Heinrich Frank, a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, was zipping down the highway on a Friday afternoon, who happened upon a different, equally peculiar cave which was a mega tunnel. LA tunnel diggers find bone of ancient giant sloth. Tightly muscled, angry and swinging its fore legs tipped with wolverine-like claws, it would have been able to defend itself effectively. The bone is from a Harlan's ground sloth, a mammal that roamed the Los Angeles basin 11,000 years ago. These mammoth tunnels are perhaps the craft of giant ground sloths humongous “paleoburrows” that no longer walk the Earth. Frank returned to this site and crawled inside, and saw a single shaft, about 15 feet long; at its end, while on his back, he found what looked like claw marks all over the ceiling, but because he was not able to identify any geological reason, he concluded that it was dug by an extent sloth species. © 2017 The Associated Press. 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Ground sloths, on the other hand, were suitably monumental. (AP) — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. Apparently, Frank and his colleagues are studying the patterns in all these to understand what kind of animals could have been digging it. Enlarge. var p = 'https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https' : 'http'; An estimated 4,000 metric tons of dirt and rock were dug out of the hillside to create the burrow. He has documented some 1,500 paleoburrows so far in Rio Grande do Sul, his home state and also hundreds more in Santa Catarina. cb: (new Date()).getTime() Giant armadillos, though shorter than sloths, may also have the skills necessary to dig these tunnels as well. Researchers have found several colossal burrows in South America that are so huge and neatly constructed, you’d be forgiven for thinking humans dug them as a passageway through the forest. Researchers have found many massive, well-built burrows in South America that would be forgiven for thinking humans dug them as a passageway through the … But, Frank and his students surveyed a 45-mile stretch of highway construction near the city of Porto Alegre, and identified paleoburrows in more than 70 percent of road cuts. for(var key in params) qs.push(key+'='+encodeURIComponent(params[key])); Your email address will not be published. Hundreds of tunnels which date back at least 10,000 Years have been Discovered in Brazil. Turns out, they’re far more ancient than they look, estimated to be at least 8,000 to 10,000 years old, and no known geologic process can explain them. Required fields are marked *, Receive news updates via email from this site. Hundreds of tunnels which date back at least 10,000 Years have been Discovered in Brazil. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a fossilized hip joint was discovered on May 16 in a layer of sandy clay 16 feet below a major thoroughfare where the new rail line is being built. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) (. He and his colleagues believe that there could be several genera such as Catonyx, Glossotherium and the massive, several-ton Lestodon, that once lived in South America and whose fossil remains suggest adaptation for serious digging, while the others believe that there could be extinct armadillos as well, behind this, but apparently Frank and his colleagues are still trying to explain it. A bone from an extinct bison also was found. Amilcar Adamy, a geologist with the Brazilian Geological Survey, in 2010, was the first to investigate rumors of an impressive cave in southern Brazil. Dating the sediments found in the burrow would give a few details but not definitely identify when the burrow was dug. They are neatly symmetrical—too neat to have been caused by any known geologic process. var s = d.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.async=true; Unfortunately, there are no specific indications of these animals living in the country. The giant armadillo largest living member of the family, weighs between 65 and 90 pounds and its burrows are about 16 inches in diameter and up to about 20 feet long, which made Frank wonder what could be behind the biggest tunnel. Some were filled with sediment while some were open, like the one that first attracted Frank’s attention. LOS ANGELES -- Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. Ancient, giant sloths are the prime suspect behind the creation of these paleoburrows. };

Rearing on its hind legs, the giant ground sloth would have been a formidable prey for anyone, let alone humans without modern weapons. Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. A bone from an extinct bison also was found. They are neatly symmetrical—too neat to have been caused by any … The beautiful armadillo, Dasypus bellus, an extinct creature about twice the size of today’s nine-banded armadillo, was widespread in Pleistocene North America. Complex underground tunnels were discovered in Brazil, the question is who dug them? Archaeologists in Mexico Discover Treasure of Mayan Civilization and Giant Sloth Fossils in a Vast Underwater Cave In the world’s biggest underwater cave system, archaeologists have found many ancient Mayan artefacts and fossils of long-extinct creatures, including giant sloths, but warn that the mysteries of the ancient history of the caves may be tarnished by nearby pollution. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a fossilized hip joint was discovered on May 16 in a layer of sandy clay 16 feet below a major thoroughfare where the new rail line is being built. Thu, Jun 1, 2017 0 Comments. Massive caves in southern Brazil are actually ancient ground sloth burrows Usually, tunnels are made either by human engineers or flowing water. Though he couldn’t study the cave in detail in the first encounter, one thing was known that the mega tunnels were not something that happened naturally, and he resolved to return. It’s nearly twice as large as the second-largest known burrow, located elsewhere in Brazil (, In South America, giant sloths—some the size of elephants—roamed the surface, and were, perhaps, expert tunnel diggers. { Download the Beyond Science Magazine Here! ρίον], "beast") is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene. Spread the love. Monday 20, July 2020 Our ancestors used misdirection to gain the upper hand in close-quarter combat with this deadly creature. According to Frank, the mega tunnels measuring upto 5 feet in diameter, were dug by ground sloths. var params = Adamy also claimed that it could not have been made naturally and that there were more such tunnels. Until early 2000s, no burrows were attributed to the extinct megafauna. wid: "298067", })(document); Outside the entrance to a paleoburrow. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth.The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a … 20,000 years ago this region was a dense marshland and the team of researchers found that the 22 giant sloths had died after “consuming their own feces”, before being preserved in the death pit by encroaching asphalt seeping … Hidden Geometric Patterns Discovered At Ancient Site Of Göbekli Tepe, Turquoise: Metaphorical Significance And Healing Properties, Ancient Site Much Older Than Göbekli Tepe Found In Mardin, Turkey, 11 Most Mysterious Geoglyphs Around The Globe, The Underground War: 10 Things To Know About Cu Chi Tunnels, Mystery Of Lost Ancient Egyptian Colony In Grand Canyon, Astonishing Sculpture Of Harry Potter Bridge Made Of A Book, The Belmez Faces: Bizarre Paranormal Phenomenon. (Courtesy: Heinrich Frank) (, Inside the first paleoburrow discovered in the Amazon. Deep inside Brazil, there are tunnels large enough for a person to walk through. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a fossilized hip joint was discovered on May 16 in a layer of sandy clay 16 feet below a major thoroughfare where the new rail line is … The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a fossilized hip joint was discovered on May 16 in a layer of sandy clay 16 feet below a major thoroughfare where the new rail line is being built. They weighed more than an adult elephant. Researchers have known about these tunnels since at least the 1930s, but back then, they were considered to be some kind of archaeological structure ― remains of caves carved out by our ancient ancestors, perhaps. Jun 2, 2017 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. The ancient remains were found in Tanque Loma paleontological site, also known as Arroyo Seco, on the northern side of the Santa Elena Peninsula (SEP) in southwest Ecuador. All Rights Reserved. The sloths grew up to 10 feet in length and weighed up to 1,500 pounds. They weighed more than an adult elephant. d.getElementById("contentad298067").appendChild(s); Archaeologists in Mexico Discover Treasure of Mayan Civilization and Giant Sloth Fossils in a Vast Underwater Cave . June 2, 2017 / 3:13 PM / AP LOS ANGELES -- Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. But near the town of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, there are tunnels large enough to drive a car in that were dug by neither - instead, these are the work of ancient, giant sloths. Deep inside Brazil, there are tunnels large enough for a person to walk through. Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. The massive burrows are estimated to … id: "5e7fafd5-279e-4d61-afd3-583d730998b8", Amilcar Adamy of the CPRM, returned to the strange cave in Rondonia, in 2015, turned out to be the first paleoburrow discovered in the Amazon, and turned out to be one of the largest ever measured, with branching tunnels altogether tallying about 2,000 feet in length.

var qs=[]; A lot of questions are attracting the scientists such as who could have created the tunnels, why and when. Large mammals flourished in the LA area thousands of years ago. Tunnels excavated by giant sloths in ancient South America still exist today. Giant ground sloths like Eremotherium were built for burrowing. (Courtesy: Heinrich Frank) (, A closer look at those claw marks. LA tunnel diggers find bone of ancient giant sloth. Image credits Amilcar Adamy. Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. Copyright © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Finding a suitable passage, he entered through an elliptical shaft roughly four-feet wide, 65-feet long and lined with claw marks, which he calculated to be 250 feet long, and he claimed that there is no geological process that can produce such mega tunnels. LA Tunnel Diggers Find Ancient Giant Sloth Bone Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. Another possibility was it could be found in North America, but no one paid attention. When the tunnels were first found in 2000, Brazilian scientist Heinrich Frank counted his discovery of staggering 1,500 tunnels already. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Their remains were found in the tunnels, but scientists did not think it could be done by Armadillo. And … Excavations for train projects have turned up bison and camel bones as well as mastodon teeth and tusk fragments. According to Frank, the mega tunnels measuring upto 5 feet in diameter, were dug by ground sloths. LOS ANGELES — Crews digging a tunnel for a new Los Angeles train line have found the remains of an ancient giant sloth. Another thing to wonder is the strange geographic distribution of paleoburrows, all majorly in South American region. In Rio Grande do Sul, Frank found burrows measuring some hundreds of feet, and more than 1,000 total feet of tunnel have been measured in another burrow in the Gandarela Mountains, though Frank’s reports of one burrow more than 3,000 feet long in Santa Catarina are yet to be investigated. We’ve known about the existence of these structures since the 1930s at least, but in … The grooves along the ceiling may, in fact, be marks the animals have left whenever they pause or stop working. The extinct giant sloth biggest of the hillside to create the burrow more such tunnels the extinct megafauna few but... Biggest of the tunnels, but scientists did not think it could be by... Harlan 's ground sloth, a closer look at those claw marks thousands of years ago 'http ' ; =... 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