What is "urumaco"

Urumaco is a town in the state of Falcón in Venezuela. It is of world importance for its fossils. The arid climate of the region means that the fossils are not hidden by vegetation. They were first made known to science by geologists who came across them while looking for oil (which is abundant in some parts of Venezuela). The paleontological wealth of Urumaco makes it the most fossil-rich zone of northern South America.

Stupendemys geographicus, the largest turtle ever to have existed was found here in the 1970s by researchers from Harvard University. More recently publicity has been attracted by discoveries of the giant rodent Phoberomys pattersoni from the Miocene epoch.

Since 2000 there has been a museum in the town, the Museo Paleontológico de Urumaco. In La Cruz de Taratara, a small town in Sucre near Coro, there is an Archeology and Paleontology Park, where the oldest human remains in Venezuela from 15,000 years ago, can be seen. There are petroglyphs 14,000 years old that give an account of the early inhabitants of the area.