Baja California Sur is home to the only desmostylian fossils ever found in Mexico, the southernmost discovery site in the world for an entirely extinct order of marine mammals. Yet the thousands of specimens recovered from across the state sit in hallways, storage rooms, and crowded labs at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) in La Paz, with no dedicated facility for preservation or public display. A recent academic forum at the university ended with a formal call to build a natural history museum, a project researchers say is now advancing with institutional partners.
Desmostylians, Extinct Whales, and 55 Million Years of Fossils in BCS
The 3rd Permanent Panorama Forum on the Paleontological Heritage of Baja California Sur, held in the Reading Room of the UABCS Central Library, brought together three specialists from the university’s Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. Dr. Mehdi Mesmoudi of the Department of Humanities moderated the panel, which was part of events marking UABCS’s 50th anniversary.
Marine biologist Natalia Rangel presented research on desmostylians, a group of marine mammals with no living descendants. Fossils of the order have been found only along the margins of the North Pacific, from Japan south to Baja California Sur. No other site in Mexico has produced desmostylian remains, and the BCS discoveries represent the farthest-south occurrence on record globally.
“It is the only order of marine mammals that is completely extinct. In Mexico, BCS is the only place where fossils of this group have been found,” Rangel told the forum audience.
Dr. Citlali Solís described a broader fossil record stretching back roughly 55 million years into the Cenozoic Era. Her work has focused on cetaceans, and she noted that research in BCS has led to the identification of previously unknown whale species. “New species have emerged. This indicates that there is great diversity in these deposits on the peninsula,” Solís said. Beyond whales, paleontological sites across the state have yielded fossils of sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, dugongs, sperm whales, and terrestrial megafauna including horses and camels.
Recovery sites span much of the peninsula’s southern half. Dr. Gerardo González, curator of the UABCS Natural History Museum’s paleontological collection, listed San Juan de la Costa, La Purísima, Santa Rosalía, and the San José del Cabo Basin as key locations. Together, these sites allow scientists to reconstruct marine ecosystems and evolutionary changes across tens of millions of years.
Baja California Sur Fossils Stored in Hallways and Labs Without Protection
González told the forum that the university holds “several thousand pieces” but lacks adequate space for either long-term conservation or public exhibition. Specimens are currently scattered among research laboratories, corridors, and storage areas at the La Paz campus. The arrangement limits public access and puts fragile fossils at risk of degradation.
“We need a museum. We need a dignified space for these collections,” González said.
The storage problem is not new. UABCS has accumulated paleontological material over decades of fieldwork, but the university has never had a purpose-built facility for housing or displaying the collection. Solís added that many specimens remain formally undescribed in the scientific literature, meaning their full research value has not yet been realized. Each unanalyzed fossil represents a potential discovery waiting for adequate lab space and staff time.
The gap between scientific output and infrastructure is notable for a region with such an internationally significant fossil record. The North Pacific rim, stretching from Japan through Alaska and down the Pacific coast of North America, is one of the most productive zones for marine mammal paleontology. BCS sits at the southern tip of that arc, giving its deposits a particular importance for understanding how species distributed themselves across warming and cooling oceans over geological time.
UABCS Museum Project Moving Forward With Institutional Partners
González confirmed that collaborations with other institutions and organizations are already underway to advance the museum project. He did not name specific partners or provide a timeline, but described the effort as essential to protecting BCS’s paleontological heritage.
A dedicated museum would serve multiple purposes. Researchers would gain proper conservation facilities for fragile specimens. Students at UABCS, which enrolls roughly 7,000 undergraduates, would have a teaching resource on campus. And residents and visitors to La Paz would gain access to a collection that currently exists behind closed doors.
La Paz already draws visitors interested in marine life, from whale shark tours in the Bay of La Paz to diving at Espíritu Santo Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005. A natural history museum anchored by a fossil collection covering 55 million years of marine evolution would complement that existing appeal. The San José del Cabo Basin fossils, recovered from an area just north of Cabo San Lucas, connect the paleontological story directly to the Los Cabos corridor that most tourists already know.
The forum panelists emphasized that the fossil record belongs to the broader community, not just to scientists. “We hope this forum has sparked interest in the world of paleontology and that everyone leaves with greater curiosity to learn more,” Mesmoudi said at the event’s close. González said the next step is securing a physical space and the institutional agreements to operate it. The forum was originally reported by the Gringo Gazette.