The discovery made by Jose Antonio Nieves of an enormous prehistoric fossil on his farm in Argentina was extraordinary, but surprisingly it was not the only unbelievable discovery made by an unsuspecting farmer in a small town that year.
On a different side of the planet, in the Northern Hemisphere, James Bristle, a farmer from Michigan, was working the soybean field on his farm when he unexpectedly encountered something amazing. So amazing it would turn him into a local celebrity and soon after into a worldwide media sensation.
Not Completely Gone
The enormous size of the glyptodons has raised some questions about their lineage, but scientists believe that they are the ancient ancestors of an animal that most have us have seen at least once or twice in our lives. It is a much smaller mammal that is also covered by a protective shell.
Although they are vastly different in size, it turns out that the enormous prehistoric glyptodons are related to the medium-sized modern-day armadillo. When you take their size into account, there is one more surprising thing scientists found out about the glyptodon fossil the Argentinian farmer stumbled upon.
It Wasn’t Fully Grown
The 2-ton fossil that was found on the farm in Argentina seemed enormous. Its shell was measured at an astonishing three feet, but apparently, this glyptodon was not even fully grown. Paleontologists’ research suggests that the shell of a fully matured specimen could reach up to 11 feet!
It is hard to believe that these enormous creatures used to roam freely across these lands, which are now populated. Jose Antonio Nieves’s incredible accidental discovery of a glyptodon fossil has surely helped scientists find out more about these creatures who became extinct so long ago. Keep reading for an even more unbelievable discovery.
An Unexpected Hurdle
James Bristle had recently acquired the property, which was located not far from the city of Chelsea in the Ann Arbor region. On that day in October 2015, Bristle wanted to get some work done on his infrastructure and decided that a remote soy field would be a good location for a new natural gas line.
Although the field was supposed to have loose, soft soil, heavy machinery was still needed to dig deep enough to install the gas line. Bristle and a friend were using a tractor to plow deep into what was supposed to be soft Midwestern earth when their backhoe suddenly hit something.
A Peculiar Find
Bristle stopped the work and got down on his hands and knees to examine the obstacle they had run into. He believed it was probably a stone or a big root, but as he started feeling around, he discovered that the object was smooth and hard.
The farmer was now extremely curious and continued trying to remove the soil and dirt from the mysterious object. James and his friend did not know what they were dealing with but finally managed to get off some of the mud. At that moment, they both realized that they had uncovered something extraordinary.