The word Jurassic comes from a strip of the Swiss Alps called the Jura Mountains. Rocks in the area were the first from the era to be studied. They were first identified in 1799 by Alexander von Humboldt - a Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer. It was not until 1839 however until the Jurassic Period was identified by famed German geologist and paleontologist Leopold von Buch.
Since the formalization of the era, it has been discovered that the Jurassic period occurred approximately 144-206 million years ago. Multiple ancient plant and animal species like cycads, ammonites, and pterosaurs flourished during this period.
While there have been significant research delving on the Jurassic period throughout recent years, there is still a lot more aspects about this ancient time left to be discovered. In fact just recently, a team from the Regional Center for Scientific Research and Technology Transfer or CRILAR announced that they might have chanced upon one of the greatest Jurassic fossil sites known to man.
The recently discovered dig site clocks in at a whopping 23,000 square miles and is located in Patagonia, Southern Argentina.
"No other place in the world contains the same amount and diversity of Jurassic fossils, gushed Juan Garcia Massini from CRILAR.
The artifacts that have been discovered in Patagonia are between 140 to 160 million years old. These fossils were recently uncovered because of soil erosion in the area. The paleontologists have unearthed several micro and macro organisms including worms, fungis and cyanobacterias.
Scientists involved in the discovery have also gushed about how instrumental their breakthrough would be in the study of the Jurassic period. According to some, the fossils have been so remarkably preserved that it is possible that the site would lend new eyes into what it was like during the Jurassic Period.
