Paleontology in Argentina: History, heritage, funding, and education from a southern perspective

FERNÁNDEZ, DIANA E.; LUCI, LETICIA; CATALDO, CECILIA S.; PÉREZ, DAMIÁN E.

PALAEONTOLOGIA ELECTRONICA

COQUINA PRESS

Lugar: New York; Año: 2014 vol. 17 p. 1 - 18

1094-8074

There is a long tradition of paleontological research in Argentina. In 1766 Esteban Álvarez delFierro reported the first fossils found in Argentinian territory, from Arrecifes, Buenos Aires province. Through the following years, large mammals were discovered in Luján and other nearby localities, and were sent to Spain for examination (Schávelzon and Arenas, 1992). These were mainly remains of Megatherium (Figure 1.1). Between 1833 and 1835, during his famous voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle, Charles Darwin visited several Argentinian localities, where he collected numerous fossils and made important geological observations (Aguirre-Urreta et al., 2009). Many of these fossils were studied by European researchers such as Edward Forbes, G. B. Sowerby, and Richard Owen (Darwin, 1846). These studies, together with the observations made by other European naturalists, for instance Alcide d?Orbigny (d?Orbigny, 1842), constituted the basis for the emergence of paleontological knowledge of the region. Many of the materials collected in this period remain in foreign institutions such as the Natural History Museum, London.