A preserved ancient flamingo egg was discovered in Mexico while building an airport
A bustling building site for a new airport in Mexico yielded an ancient flamingo fossil egg that was between 8,000 and 12,000 years old, according to authorities from the Latin American nation.
The very uncommon Pleistocene egg is extremely well preserved. According to Mexico’s heritage organization INAH on Wednesday, it is the first finding of its sort from the Phoenicopteridae flamingo family in the Americas and just the second worldwide.
The most recent Ice Age, known as the Pleistocene geological era, lasted from around 11,700 years ago to 2.6 million years ago.
The flamingo egg fossil was discovered between clay and shale at a depth of 31 cm (1 foot) during building of the new Felipe Angeles airport in the State of Mexico, according to INAH.
According to Mexican experts, the fossil egg suggests that the region was the location of a small lake between 8,000 and 33,000 years ago and that flamingos formerly flourished in central Mexico.
The modern American flamingo species, which is distinguished by its vivid pink feathers, may be found mostly in South America, the Caribbean, the Yucatan peninsula, and along the southeast coast of the United States.
