The discovery was made in the departments of Boyaca, Santander, and Cundinamarca thanks to the application of scientific methods such as field surveys and excavations with computed tomography scans, three-dimensional modeling, and comparisons with international collections.
The first fossil, found in Villa de Leyva, (Boyaca department), corresponds to a long-snouted pliosaur, now named Boyacasaurus sumercei.
It is estimated to have lived approximately 114 million years ago, and according to Cristian Benavides-Cabra, the SGC’s paleontological research leader, this specimen has an anatomical feature that distinguishes it from other similar specimens: the parasphenoid bone of the palate has an extremely long projection.
The second finding, of a mosasaur, took place in Lebrija, Santander department, was named Oneirosaurus caballeroi, which dates back 89 million years.
The third fossil is a large ichthyosaur found in the Siquima Riverbed, in the central department of Cundinamarca.
At about 110 million years old, it represents the first record of a tunosaurian ichthyosaur from the Late Albian in Colombia and South America, according to study co-author Daniel Pomar.
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