Scientists Discover Extinct Sea Cow Fossil In Philippines
Italian scientists have discovered the bones of an extinct sea
cow species that lived over 20 million years ago in a
Philippines cave. Limestone rock above the waters of an
underground river on the island of Palawan revealed several ribs
and spine parts of the aquatic mammal, says expedition head
Leonardo Piccini, a geologist from the University of Florence.
The discovery of the extinct sea cow species was announced
during a symposium at the Philippine presidential palace.
Piccini says that it was a rare find in the region from the
Miocene era, which is about 20 million years ago. “It’s the
first remains of this kind of animal in the area, so it is
important in reconstructing the habitat and the diffusions of
this animal in the Miocene,” he says. Such fossil finds in the
East have been limited to India, with some fragmented finds in
Madagascar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Indonesian island of
Java, reports AFP. “The specimens (found) in the Palawan Isl