The Hindu : New Delhi News : Scientist confirms Cambrian fossils in Vindhyas

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Tuesday, Nov 06, 2007
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New Delhi

Scientist confirms Cambrian fossils in Vindhyas

Staff Correspondent

Rocks about 550 million years old point to the Cambrian explosion
‘Findings establish contemporary evolution of Vindhya mountains’

DEHRA DUN: Latest research findings about the presence of Cambrian fossils in the Vindhya mountains by Stefan Bengtson of the department of Palaeozoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History has confirmed the discovery made by R.J. Azmi of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in 1998 and put to rest the controversy thrown up by some Indian scientists who refused to believe Dr. Azmi’s findings.

The 1998 discovery of Cambrian fossils in the lower Vindhyas had created a sensation as these rocks believed to be 1400 to 1100 million years old were now being claimed to be fairly young and about 550 million years old.

Prof. Bengtson’s findings were presented at the Geological Society of America annual meeting held in Denver recently. Happy over the confirmation of his discovery by an international expert, Dr. Azmi felt that it was astonishing that Indian scientists could not confirm the findings despite having made several field visits for the purpose for nearly a decade. The presence of these small skeletal shelly fossils in the Vindhyas is part of the Cambrian explosion around the world.

In India such fossils have been found in the Mussoorie hills of the lesser Himalaya and the Vindhya mountain ranges of Central India. Their presence establishes the close sea connection and contemporary evolution of this mountain system, Dr. Azmi said.

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