Urumaco facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Urumaco
Urumaco Location in Venezuela

Urumaco.

Urumaco is a town in Falcón State in Venezuela. It is a very special place for scientists who study fossils, called paleontologists. This is because Urumaco has a huge number of ancient animal and plant remains. The area is very dry, which means there isn't much plant growth to hide the fossils. This makes them easier to find!

Scientists first learned about Urumaco's fossils when geologists were looking for oil. Venezuela has a lot of oil, and these geologists stumbled upon the fossils by accident. Because of all its fossil treasures, Urumaco is known as the richest fossil zone in northern South America.

What Makes Urumaco Special?

Urumaco is like a giant natural history museum, but outdoors! It holds clues about life on Earth millions of years ago. The dry weather helps keep the fossils safe. This means scientists can find many well-preserved remains of ancient creatures.

Amazing Fossil Discoveries

Many incredible fossils have been found in Urumaco. These discoveries help us understand what the world was like long ago. They show us the giant animals that once roamed this part of South America.

Giant Turtle and Rodent

One of the most exciting finds in Urumaco was the largest turtle ever known! It's called Stupendemys geographicus. Researchers from Harvard University found this giant turtle in the 1970s. Imagine a turtle as big as a small car!

More recently, scientists found fossils of a huge rodent. This animal is named Phoberomys pattersoni. It lived during a time called the Miocene epoch. The Miocene epoch was a period of Earth's history that lasted from about 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. This giant rodent was much bigger than any rodent alive today.

Visiting Urumaco's Museums

If you want to learn more about Urumaco's ancient past, you can visit its museums.

Since the year 2000, the town has had its own museum. It's called the Museo Paleontológico de Urumaco. Here, you can see many of the fossils found in the area up close. There is also an Archaeology and Paleontology Park. This park is located in La Cruz de Taratara. This is a small town near Coro in Sucre.

See also

In Spanish: Urumaco para niños