New Delhi: Researchers have found the fossil bone fragments of 100 million-year-old sauropod dinosaurs. The fossil bones were found in the West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya.
The researchers of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have noted that this was the first record of sauropods of probable Titanosaurian origin discovered in the region. The findings were made during a current field tour by the researchers of GSI's Paleontology division in the North-East.
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"Dinosaur bones from Meghalaya were reported by GSI in 2001 but they were too fragmentary and ill-preserved to understand its taxonomic identification," said Arindam Roy, Senior Geologist, Palaeontology Division, GSI.
The finding has made Meghalaya among the fifth state in India to report Sauropod bones having titanosaurian affinity, they said. Meghalaya turns out to be the first state with such findings in the entire Northeast region.
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Sauropods had very long-drawn necks, elongated tails, tiny heads related to the rest of their body, and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are distinguished for the huge sizes attained by some species, and the group comprises the largest creatures to have ever lived on land.
The bone fragments were collected from poorly sorted, purplish to greenish very coarse-grained arkosic sandstone interlaid with pebbly beds.
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“The abundance of bones recovered during the present work and especially the finding of few limb bones and vertebrae having taxonomic characters of titanosauriform clade are unique,” said Roy.
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