New dinosaur species from India? 167-million-old fossils found in Jaisalmer might hold vital clues
Dicraeosaurid dinosaur
The fossil remains of 167-million-years-old long-necked, plant-eatingdicraeosauriddinosaur have been discovered in the western Indian city of Jaisalmer, located in the state of Rajasthan. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) managed to unearth the prehistoric findings.
The scientists have named the dinosaur fossil ‘Tharosaurus indicus’, referring to the Thar desert and the country of origin where the remains were found.
According to the study published in ‘Scientific Reports’, an international journal by publishers of Nature, scientists are of the view that the fossils belong to a new species of dinosaurs, unknown to man. The fossils were collected from the Jaisalmer region in 2018 and a group of six researchers from the two institutes,spent almost five years studying them.
“A systematic fossil exploration and excavation program initiated by GSI in 2018 in the Middle Jurassic (~ 167 Ma) rocks in the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan, has led to this discovery,"said Prof Sunil Bajpai, chair professor of vertebrate paleontology in the department of earth sciences at IIT-Roorkee.
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"The fossils were collected by the GSI officers Krishna Kumar, Pragya Pandey and Triparna Ghosh under the supervision of Debasis Bhattacharya and then we studied it for around five years,” he added.
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A rare discovery
The discovery of the fossils, of all the places in India, suggests that the country also played a small yet unexpected part in the dinosaur evolution cycle.
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Researchers said since the fossils were found in rocks dated to be around 167 million years old, it makesIndian sauropod not only the oldest known dicraeosaurid but also globally the oldest diplodocoid (broader group which includes dicraeosaurids and other closely related sauropods).
Previously,dicraeosaurid dinosaurs fossils have been discovered in North and South America, Africa and China but never in India.
(With inputs from agencies)
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