Meghalaya: 100 million-year-old bones of Sauropods discovered
The researchers in the Geological Survey of India recently found fossil bone fragments of Sauropod dinosaurs. They were 100 million years old. These dinosaur bones were found in West Khasi hills in the district of Meghalaya. This is the first record of the Sauropods discovered in the region.
Sauropods
- They had very long necks, small heads, long tails and four pillar like legs.
- The findings of Sauropods in Meghalaya make it the fifth state after Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Also, Meghalaya is the only state in the North-East to report Sauropod bones.
- The first dinosaur bone was discovered at the Bara Simla Hill in Jabalpur Cantonment.
Dinosaurs in India
- Dinosaurs in India existed from the late Triassic period till the Cretaceous period.
- The Rajasaurus dinosaur originated in India.
- Of all the dinosaurs found in India, Barapasaurus was the biggest in India. It was four metres tall and 24 metres in length. The fiercest was the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Why did dinosaurs become extinct on the earth?
A big meteorite crashed into the earth changing its climatic conditions. The dinosaurs couldn’t survive under these climatic conditions. Ash and gas suffocated them and diseases wiped out the populations. Also the food chain imbalances created due to the meteorite impact led to the starvation of dinosaurs. The meteorite impact killed several animals and burnt most of the forest.
The Dinosaurs became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, that is, 201.3 million years ago. Their dominance continued throughout the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods.
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Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021