Tharasaurus Indicus

Tharasaurus Indicus

News: Scientists from IIT-Roorkee and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have discovered the fossil remains of a new dinosaur species in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, naming it ‘Tharosaurus indicus’.

What is Tharasaurus Indicus?
• It is the name given to the fossil remains of a long-necked, plant-eating dicraeosaurid dinosaur found in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
• It has been named ‘Tharosaurus indicus’ as the first name refers to the ‘Thar desert’ where the fossils were found and the second after its country of origin.

Significance of Findings:
• The dicraeosaurid dinosaur had previously been found in the North and South Americas, Africa, and China. This is the first instance of such fossils being discovered in India.
• The rocks in which the fossils of Tharosaurus indicus were found are dated to be around 167 million years old, which makes this new Indian sauropod not only the oldest known dicraeosaurid dinosaur but also globally the oldest diplodocoid (broader group which includes dicraeosaurids and other closely related sauropods).