Discovery of 100 million-year-old bones of sauropods in Meghalaya
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Science & Technology
- Published
5th May, 2021
-
Context
Researchers have identified fossil bone fragments of long-necked dinosaurs called sauropods from an area around West Khasi Hills District in Meghalaya.which dates back to about 100-million-years.
Key findings
- The findings are made by the Geological Survey of India's Palaeontology division in North-East.
- This is the first record of sauropods of probable Titanosaurian origin discovery in the region.
- Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, which includes genera from Africa, Asia, South America, North America, Europe, Australia and Antarctica.
- The fossils are presumably of Late Cretaceous that is about 100 million years ago.
- In India, the Late Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur generally belongs to the titanosaurian clade.
- Discovered parts: The partially preserved limb bone of 55 centimetres (cm) long, an incomplete limb bone measuring 45cm in length and an incomplete chevron of caudal vertebrae and also cervical vertebrae.
Sauropods:
- Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs were the most diverse and abundant large-bodied terrestrial herbivores in the Southern Hemisphere landmasses during the Cretaceous Period.
- They were not endemic to the Gondwana landmasses.
- They are notable for enormous sizes attained by some of the species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land.
- They had very long necks, long tails, small heads with respect to the rest of their body, and four thick, pillar-like legs.
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Other States in India with similar findings
- The finding makes Meghalaya the fifth state in India and the only state in Nort-East:
- Gujarat
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu
- Region: The discovery in India has extensively been taken place in Gondwana.
- Gondwana is the southern half of the Pangaean supercontinent which existed some 300 million years ago.
- It is composed of the major continental blocks of the South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, India, Antarctica, and Australia.
