‘Jurassic Park’ emerges from Venezuela’s oil

Under the rich Venezuelan soil, paleontologists have found treasures rivalling the bountiful oil: An armadillo the size of a Volkswagen, a crocodile bigger than a bus, and a sabre-toothed tiger.

Oil companies’ surveys of the soil have uncovered a trove of fossils dating from 14,000 to 370m years ago.

Many of the 12,000 recorded specimens from different eras are now kept in a tiny office of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research.