Dakar Rally to get going in Peru and Argentina amid fears for desert fossils

The Dakar Rally kicks off its 34th edition today with question marks over the gruelling 8,400-kilometre event's environmental impact and safety record.

In all, 459 vehicles will blast their way from the Peruvian capital of Lima on their way to the finish line in Santiago, Chile, on January 20.

The race that originated in 1978, when it traditionally started from Paris on New Year's Day and made its way to Africa, has been run on South American soil over the past five years as a result of security issues that hit the original route.

However, this year's edition has already come in for criticism after paleontologists warned the heavy-duty vehicles will once again pose a serious risk to whale and dolphin fossils dating back more than 20 million years.

"We have many skeletons of large mammals, especially whales and dolphins, and the fossilised remains of invertebrates that have suffered damage due to passing vehicles," Carlos Vildoso, director of the Peruvian Institute of Paleontology, said.

Organisers have also been keen to pay down the dangers associated with the Dakar which has claimed 59 lives, including 20 spectators, over the years.

Twelve months ago, Argentine rider Jorge Martinez Boero was killed on the first day of the race.