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ScienceQuiet 5d · day 7

Capybara fossil in Atacama Desert challenges region's 40-million-year dry streak

A 9-million-year-old fossilized capybara tooth found in Chile suggests the world's oldest desert was once wet enough to support the semi-aquatic rodent.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 4d ago11 pieces Google NewsReddit

What to know

  • A fossilized capybara tooth found in Chile's Atacama Desert and dated to 9 million years ago marks the first and oldest capybara record in coastal Chile.
  • The discovery contradicts the scientific consensus that the Atacama has been continuously dry for 40 million years; capybaras require persistent water and wetland vegetation.
  • The finding raises questions about how semi-aquatic capybaras crossed the Andes mountain chain and survived in what is now one of Earth's driest regions.

Priscilla Martinez Lead author, University of Arizona doctoral studentBarbara Carrapa Co-author, University of Arizona professor of GeosciencesUniversity of Arizona Department of Geosciences Research institution

Capybara fossil in Atacama Desert challenges region's 40-million-year dry streak
news.arizona.edu

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 4 pieces in two hours at Sep 16, 9 PM; 11 pieces over 7 days (10 articles · 1 post) Sep 16, 9 PM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Google News 4Sep 16, 11 PM — quietSep 17, 1 AM — quietSep 17, 3 AM — quietSep 17, 5 AM — quietSep 17, 7 AM — quietSep 17, 9 AM — quietSep 17, 11 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Google News 1, Reddit 1Sep 17, 1 PM — quietSep 17, 3 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — quietSep 17, 7 PM — quietSep 17, 9 PM — quietSep 17, 11 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 18, 3 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 7 AM — quietSep 18, 9 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Google News 3Sep 18, 11 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 3 PM — quietSep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 7 PM — quietSep 18, 9 PM — quietSep 18, 11 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 3 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 3 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quiet 12
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 2:55 AM ET
  1. 2

    Researchers examine geographic and climatic barriers to capybara migration across the Andes

    The research team explored why capybaras, which today inhabit low-elevation wetlands east of the Andes in South America, would have been present in the Atacama during the late Miocene period.

    “Finding a capybara tooth in a marine deposit in what today is one of the driest regions on Earth is just freakish.”
    — Priscilla Martinez, Lead author, University of Arizona doctoral student · source
  2. background

    Fossil evidence contradicts Atacama's 40-million-year drought timeline — The capybara tooth discovery, published in Nature's Scientific Reports, questions the longstanding scientific consensus that the Atacama Desert has been one of Earth's oldest continuously dry regions for roughly 40 million years. Capybaras are obligate semi-aquatic herbivores that require persistent water, wetland vegetation, and riparian corridors—conditions incompatible with the modern Atacama's extreme aridity.

  3. 1

    University of Arizona researchers announce capybara fossil discovery in Atacama Desert

    Scientists led by doctoral student Priscilla Martinez found a fossilized capybara tooth in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, dated to approximately 9 million years ago. The fossil came from sediments deposited in a shallow marine environment between 10 and 7 million years ago at El Morro, part of the Bahía Inglesa Formation.

    1. 2 outlets Capybaras in the Atacama Desert? The 8.8-million-year-old fossil found in Chile challenges its...

      first by Moneycontrol.com, 7d ago · also Mirage News

      1 more headline
    2. 1 outlet A Fossil Capybara Tooth Suggests the Atacama Desert Was Once Surprisingly Wet

      first by Gizmodo, 5d ago

    1 more claim →

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 3 outlets Capybaras in the desert? Fossil casts doubt on Atacama as world's oldest continuously dry region

    first by Phys.org, 6d ago · also EurekAlert!, University of Arizona News

and 1 smaller piece