On the precarious limestone cliffs of Cuc Phuong National Park, a relatively intact fossil skeleton of a Placodont reptile, dating back over 230 million years, has been discovered. Until the discovery of this ancient species in Cuc Phuong, they were only known in Europe and the Middle East (Israel). This fossil has been proposed for classification as a special national geological heritage.
The Journey to Find the Primitive Animal in the Ancient Forest
Mr. Lap, the head of the scientific department, and Mr. Hoa, a local resident who has served as an adventure tour guide in the park for ten years, equipped with a machete and anti-leech boots, set out at 5 a.m.; while Ms. Ha, the park’s cook, prepared rice and water from as early as 4 a.m. Currently, these two staff members are the only ones capable of leading the way to the area where the fossil is located. It is a challenging journey through limestone mountains and sharp volcanic rocks.
We trekked for hours through valleys filled with ancient trees measuring up to 1.5-2 meters in diameter. The recent Storm No. 7 had ruthlessly swept through Cuc Phuong, uprooting ancient trees and pulling a massive clump of soil around its large roots; Mr. Lap and I pulled out a measuring tape to find the diameter of the root mass was 6 meters!
Deep within the core of the forest, we encountered vast rocky mountains, where ancient trees twisted their roots like serpents across the jagged limestone terrain (without any patch of soil), in the dim light of the primeval forest. In this place, even if one were to reveal the way, no one would know how to trespass upon this “special national geological heritage.” I said this to Mr. Lap, and he and Mr. Hoa, panting, agreed, “That’s absolutely right.”
Mr. Hoa, from the Muong ethnic group in Nho Quan, speaks little, climbing through the forest like a mountain goat. Scaling the cliffs like a monkey, by noon, I could no longer lift my feet. After tossing aside the machete and sitting down on a high, flat rock, Mr. Hoa smiled and said, “We’re at the dinosaur fossil site (that’s what we often call it informally). Can you guess where it is?”
The natural rock wall here is as high as the side of a seven-story building. Even at noon, the sunlight barely filters through the dark canopies of leaves. Mr. Lap, equipped with modern cameras, sighed, “Photos of the area with the Placodont fossils always turn out badly due to the lack of light!”
As I touched and tried to guess based on the story told by the Director of Cuc Phuong National Park, Mr. Truong Quang Bich, the astonishing fossil skeleton was discovered by a congenitally deaf farmer named Bien, who lived in Ao Luon village, Ky Phu commune, Nho Quan district, about 3 kilometers from the park.
That day, while foraging for bamboo shoots and mushrooms to stave off hunger (he had no wife or children), Bien wandered into the forest. While others rested and chatted about various topics, he quietly fiddled with sticks and gathered yellow and red mushrooms, playing with the… mountains.
Suddenly, he noticed something hidden in the rock face, which increasingly resembled a large fish skeleton, with clear vertebrae. He tried to pry it out, but it was unable to be removed, as it had become part of the immense, cold rock mass. Next to the rock were many large cavities. During the rainy season, he once heard the floodwaters roaring within the dark, cavernous depths of the stone. Throwing stones or rotten wood down only made them disappear.
Gazing up at the towering rock wall, Bien felt an unusual sensation. He quietly returned with a group of “timber thieves” (those who illegally enter the National Park). At night, he went to meet the park’s leadership, pointing and gesturing, but no one understood. He then asked for paper and pen to “communicate in writing” (Bien had attended school for a few years). After reading what the deaf man had written, the scientific staff of the park immediately followed him into the forest.
Upon receiving the report, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development promptly requested clarification and recognition of the scientific and tourist value of the ancient fossil. The person most passionate about this fossil sample was Associate Professor, Dr. Trinh Dánh, then the director of the Information Archive Institute, Geological Museum. He had made multiple trips to Cuc Phuong for research (American and Japanese experts had also visited), planning to lead a team to retrieve a replica from the forest.
However, this plan could not be realized. The forest was too deep, the gypsum and water made transporting specialists extremely difficult; plus, the conditions for extracting the fossil from the rock face without sunlight were prohibitive. The specialists cleaned up the broken gypsum samples in a corner of the mountain and then trudged back. It was also when the night forest closed in, with the sound of deer echoing on the mysterious mountaintop. The stone wall, layers of rock, and ancient trees, along with the ancient Placodont, fell back into a deep slumber. It has been sleeping like this for over 230 million years. There is no point in debating how many hundreds of millions of years have passed since the fossilized reptile has been hidden in the mountain rock; let’s just consider it 100 million years. How many millions of human lifetimes does 100 million years represent?
Documents officially released by leading experts state: “Through appropriate document searches and comparisons of specimens” worldwide, the fossil can be preliminarily identified as Placodontia (Placodont reptile),” “the fossil exposed in the thick limestone layer belongs to the Dong Giao formation from the Middle Triassic (T2) – which is over 230 million years ago (Document officially published by a group of researchers: Associate Professor, Dr. Trinh Dánh; Professor Herbert H. Covert – University of Colorado, USA; Associate Professor, Dr. Mark W. Hamrick – Keng State University – Ohio, USA; Kevin C. McKinney – Geological Survey, USA…).
I, along with Mr. Lap and Hoa, took out our rice balls to eat right at the base of the rock wall where the Placodont fossil was located. The fossil lay modestly within gray moss and gray stone on the cliff, about 3 meters above the forest floor. This is the first Placodont fossil discovered in Southeast Asia. It consists of 12 intact vertebrae, shaped like cylinders, with a narrowed center and deep concave surface; and 10 rib segments, along with some other bones. Why is this reptile found on such a precarious rock wall instead of being buried under soil or in a mountain like other “tombs“?
During the Middle Triassic, this area was a shallow coastal sea with the presence of Placodonts. The geological products of this period include limestones with fossils from the shallow coastal sea, including Placodonts. Through tectonic activities, these limestone beds were uplifted, folded, and distorted… As such, the stone mass that is “fossilizing” the ancient Placodont was cracked, exposing half of the reptile’s skeleton on the cliff (as it is now). Thus, hundreds of millions of years passed until one day a man named Bien discovered the existence of the Placodont fossil on the rock face.
The remains of the Placodont, over 230 million years old, indicate that during that period, Placodonts had even spread to Vietnam, not just in Europe and the Middle East (Israel) – as the world has long believed. This is compelling evidence for studying past biodiversity; it adds to the evidence for determining the geological age of the limestone in the region. If we continue to expand our search, we may uncover even more insights.
Associate Professor Trinh Dánh, head of the project “Research on Geological Conservation Areas in Vietnam“, after numerous studies of the Placodont fossil in Cuc Phuong, stated: “If we can find the skull and pelvis of the aforementioned Placodont fossil, we could clarify many more details. Currently, with 18 vertebrae and some small details, we can only confirm that this fossil belongs to the Placodont group (but cannot yet determine the species). However, to have such a remarkable find after over 230 million years is already extraordinary. Finding a similar fossil is difficult enough, let alone the actual skull and pelvis of that Placodont – that would be like searching for a needle in a haystack!
How Long Will This Fossil Be Hidden?
In the final report of the project “Research on Geological Conservation Areas in Vietnam” in 2004, Mr. Trinh Dánh proposed that the government classify two special national geological heritage sites for the Placodont fossil in Cuc Phuong and the geomorphological landscape of Huong Son (Ha Tay). However, it is currently unknown when they will be classified. In the meantime, the only option is to keep the fossil hidden in the ancient forest.
Many researchers and international organizations want to come to the site for investigation. Whenever a situation arises that is deemed truly necessary, the Cuc Phuong National Park Management Board sends officials to guide them in, which can be quite cumbersome. The rest are declined. According to Mr. Bich, there is a strong fear of “exposing” the path to the area with the Placodont fossil. If the wood in the forest cannot be preserved, how can we protect those small bones on the rock face? A single stroke of a knife or a stone can shatter them.
Currently, numerous proposals have been put forth to create a geological conservation area, which would also serve as a national geological park, with the Placodont fossil as a highlight. Visitors would “witness” various geological processes leading to the formation and development of the Earth’s crust, fossils, types of rocks, rock samples, and related flora and fauna; including the current ecosystem, the behavior of both plants and animals, and the cultural identity of the ancient inhabitants of the region.
There could be an outdoor greenhouse built to protect the Placodont fossil for tourists, similar to what has been done in the United States at the National Dinosaur Monument. Here, on a cliff about 20 meters high, thousands of dinosaur fossil bones are safeguarded in a glass museum. Within this greenhouse, scientists continue to excavate and research, so the picture of dinosaur fossils is constantly updated each year.
To honor geological sites appropriately, we must treat these intriguing messengers from the ancient times of Earth’s formation and development with the respect they deserve. Currently, there exists a global network of geoparks headquartered in China.
In our country, the project “Research on Geological Conservation Areas in Vietnam” was proposed for the first time, highlighting the geological heritage potential of Vietnam and specifically identifying 20 heritage sites and 15 feasible geological conservation areas for initial construction. However, currently, everything has stalled at the final report stage. The project led by Professor Dánh has been approved and submitted to the Geological Archive Department. With all the work still ahead, Dr. Trinh Dánh has since retired. Meanwhile, those in tourism, who could promote geological heritage, “have other concerns now.” The procedures to recognize geological heritage, including the special national geological heritage for the Placodont fossil, remain unaddressed. The idea of establishing the first three geological parks in Vietnam, including: Tuy An’s disk rock (Phu Yen); pillar basalt in Ba Lang An (Quang Ngai); and Trinh Nu waterfall basalt (Dak Nong) remains on paper.
According to An Ninh The Gioi
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