1. From 1887 until his death, Ameghino was passionately devoted to the study of fossil mammals from Patagonia, with the valuable support of his brother Carlos Ameghino who, between 1887 and 1902, made 14 trips to that region, where he discovered and collected numerous fossil faunas and made important stratigraphic observations.
Florentino Ameghino was born on September 19,1853, in Tessi, an hamlet of Moneglia, a municipality of Liguria in Italy, in what was then the Kingdom of Sardinia and moved to Argentina with his parents when he was 18 months old.
Florentino Ameghino was a self-taught naturalist, and focused his study on the lands of the southern Pampas.
Florentino Ameghino formed one of the largest collections of fossils of the world at the time, which served him as base for numerous geological and paleontological studies.
Florentino Ameghino was a leading pioneer in the development of phylogenetics and of the paleontological approach of evolutionary biology.
Florentino Ameghino investigated the possible presence of prehistoric man in the Pampas and made several controversial claims about human origins in South America.
Florentino Ameghino later directed the Department of Zoology at the National University of Cordoba, which awarded him with an honorary doctorate, and was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina.
Florentino Ameghino later served as director of the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum, in Buenos Aires, and in 1906 published Sedimentary Formations of the Cretaceous and Tertiary Eras in Patagonia, a work of synthesis is not limited to descriptions, but it raises hypotheses about the evolution of various mammals and analyzes the different layers of the crust and their possible ages.
Florentino Ameghino returned between 1907 and 1911 to his earlier dedication: anthropology, the descriptions of the first inhabitants, industries and cultures.
Florentino Ameghino theorized about the coexistence between human beings and the extinct megafauna in the Pampas, including the possible origin of humans and subsequent evolution in America.
Florentino Ameghino investigated Quaternary man at the Chelles archaeological site.
Florentino Ameghino died in La Plata, at the age of 57, on August 6,1911, after falling ill with diabetes and resisting surgery.
Florentino Ameghino's published works include 24 volumes of between 700 and 800 pages each, containing classifications, studies, comparisons and descriptions of more than 9000 extinct animals, many discovered by him.
Florentino Ameghino died from the symptoms of diabetes in La Plata in 1911.