TAR PIT FOSSIL FINDS OF PREHISTORIC ANIMALS THAT ONCE ROAMS THE FORESTS OF TRINIDAD.

Researched by Patricia Bissessar
Once upon a time, hundreds of thousand years ago prehistoric giant animals roamed the island of Trinidad: ground sloths 20 feet tall, giant armadillos as big as automobiles and Mastodons ( larger than elephants). If it were not for the fossils and skeletal remains of these prehistoric animals found buried in tar pits in south Trinidad many would not believe this to be true.
During early excavations in Trinidad paleontologists, (scientists who specializes in the study of life forms that existed in previous geologic periods) unearthed fossils belonging to gigantic mastodons, and other giant mammals that were trapped in the tar pits . According to Earth Magazine tar pits are deceptively dangerous place for as little as four centimetres of tar could be enough to ensnare a large animal. Once stuck in a tar seep, animals would eventually sink into the tar.
In the book SUCCESSION OF MAMMALIAN FAUNAS ON TRINIDAD, WEST INDIES, A study conducted by ELIZABETH SCHWARZ WING 1962 there are documented reports of fossil finds of armadillos the size of cars , remains of ground sloths 20 feet tall and skeletal remains of other ancient mammals. According to Wing ( 1962) many of the fossil finds, indicating the existence of these prehistoric mammals in Trinidad were made by Dr. H. G. Kugler in the course of his career as oil geologist for Texaco Trinidad, Inc. In 1922, he discovered a vertebrate-fossil of Megatherium (Megatherium is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene )remains in a stratum of oil sands while making a test pit at Apex (Trinidad) Oilfields, Inc. near Fyzabad. A carbon- date of greater than 3000 years has been determined from wood associated with at a depth of 12 feet at Trinidad's most important fossil locality at Forest Reserve.
Wing ( 1962 ) also reports that a similar deposit near-by at the Forest Reserve of Texaco Trinidad, Inc. was found in 1957 when the site was being cleared for oil well Number IO6O. It was in this site an almost complete skeleton of a Glyptodon was excavated, and shipped along with some fragments to the American Museum of Natural History.The Glyptodon was essentially a dinosaur-sized armadillo, with a huge, round, armored carapace, stubby, turtle-like legs, and a blunt head on a short neck. Wing ( 1962) in her study further postulates that Geological studies revealed that Sea levels were lower during the last Ice Age and Trinidad was connected to mainland South America . As such when the llanos extended into Trinidad there was opportunity for the spread of these giant creatures into Trinidad from South America.
These are the clues that tell us that prehistoric animals once roamed the island of Trinidad. These fossil discoveries and other archaeological finds in Trinidad and Tobago provide historians and scientists with rich data of what life was like thousand of years ago in Trinidad.
Source:  Virtual Museum of T&T, August 15, 2023)