Fossilized Remains of Giant Pelican Unearthed in Peru

A group of Peruvian paleontologists have recently made a unique find. The team found a giant bird with skin debris dating back to some 35 million years ago in Peru's Ica desert. Till date, there is no documentation of a similar discovery anywhere in the world.

The team, headed by renowned fossil hunter Klaus Honninger, found the fossils of the giant bird March 6.  This fossil is special as it was well-preserved and showed traces of ancient skin. The paleontologists predict that the Oligocene-era pelican would be around 6-1/2 feet tall. The remains were found in a coastal area that had several shark, whale and penguin fossils.

Prior to this, Honninger had made several big discoveries that include the first Peruvian skeleton of a Megalodon shark species in 2006. He also discovered a 16-million-year-old skull of a Kentriodon whale species, reports AFP.

"The fossil clearly retains remnants of skin. It is an extraordinary discovery because no similar specimen has been discovered anywhere else in the world before. Though China has found fossil remains of birds with pen, traced of skin does not have any record anywhere in the world," Honninger was quoted as saying in AFP.

Since January there has been a lot controversy in the coast of Ica where the fossils were discovered, because of the Dakar rally that was performed in that area. The Dakar rally is an off-road endurance race called the rally raid in which competitors traverse on tougher terrains using off-road vehicles.

This has caused a lot of discomfort among the Peruvian scientists, as the race could damage the fossilized remains in the area and the government of the nation offers not much security to the high-value area for study, reports ALT1040.

"Peruvian law is allowing the destruction of fossil remains. Hands are tied, we cannot investigate in our desert," Honninger was quoted as saying in Alt1040. He continues to say that luckily the remains of the bird were far from the path that took the race.