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In the Cerro de Batallones (Madrid) sites, the remains of a vertebrate have been found that, according to scientists, is a direct ancestor of the current red panda, a threatened species that lives in Asian forests.
The bones found at the site are of special importance as they will allow scientists to complete the family tree of the red panda. And he is not the first relative to appear at the Madrid sites. In 2008, during the excavations of the Green Corridor, in the Imperial and Principe Pío Station, the remains of a distant ancestor were found that date back to just over 15 million years . The new find appears to be the missing link between it and the current red panda.
A death trap
The Community of Madrid and the CSIC have already recovered more than 10,000 fossil animal remains at this site. The Cerro de Batallones, in the municipality of Torrejón de Velasco, is one of the most important paleontological sites in the world in terms of mammalian remains from the Tertiary Era.
The cause of this over abundance of fossils is due to the development, nine million years ago, of a system of natural holes that acted as natural traps in which many animals were trapped , most of them carnivores, from which skeletons have been recovered. integers.
Some of the species unearthed are Promegantereon and Machairodus, large cats resembling saber-toothed tigers. In addition to these there is a very large group made up of giant tortoises, mastodons and giant giraffes, among others. The site was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) by the Community of Madrid in 2001.
