He participated in huge public works in South America. During excavations for this public works, he found bones greater than normal ones.
This discovery made him be interested in paleontology as he thought that the bones were from extinguished animals. He collected a large amount of pieces that the most important European History Museums, like the British Museum, tried to bought; but Rodrigo i Batet gave this pieces to Valencia, and thanks to this present the Museo Paleontológico de Valencia was founded.