FOSSIL DATING BACK 165 MILLION YEARS FOUND IN KUTCH gujarat

FOSSIL DATING BACK 165 MILLION YEARS FOUND IN KUTCH

The fossil is a giant shell of an oyster-like sea creature; its find in Khatrod hill range suggests the region was once under water
DILIP PATEL
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Agiant fossilised shell of an oyster-like sea creature has been found on a hill of Khatrod range in Kutch. The shell, which is 2 feet long and 1.75 feet wide, is believed to be 165 million years old.
The fossil was discovered by Dr Budhia, who is the president of Kutch Science Foundation, about six months ago. It’s type and age, however, were confirmed recently by Andes Geology Society in Chile, claims Nishant Gor, who accompanied Budhia in the latter’s search for fossils.
The discovery of the shell in Khatrod range indicates that region was once under water. Interestingly, similar shells were found in the Andes, the world’s longest mountain range, in South America a few years ago.
The find in Kutch was initially mistaken for a dinosaur egg because of its size. “After it was found, a conference of geologists was held in Kutch. None of the participants were able to exactly tell what it was,” Budhia said.
Samples of the shell, he said, were then sent to Andes Geology Society. “Recently, the body informed us that the fossil is a bivalve shell,” he said. Bivalve is a type of mollusc such as an oyster.
Budhia believes many more such shells could be discovered in the Khotrad range and near the famous Gangeshwar temple. The bivalve shell is likely to be displayed at an exhibit in UK on July 4.
Fossil finds are not new to Gujarat. In 1987, the director of Palaeontology in Geological Survey of India (GSI), Dhananjay Mohabey, found a fossil in a dinosaur nesting ground by a riverbed near the present-day Dholi Dungri village bordering Kheda district’s Balasinor taluka.
A study published in the Public Library of Sciences journal only last month revealed the fossil was that of a 3.5-metre-long snake that preyed on dinosaur eggs and hatchlings