Rare 200-Million-Year-Old Fossil Found in Rajasthan Village

Researchers in Rajasthan have identified a rare Jurassic-era fossil in Megha village near Jaisalmer, confirming it as a phytosaur, a long-snouted, crocodile-like reptile that prowled river margins around 200–201 million years ago. The specimen, measuring roughly 1.5–2 meters, was first spotted during a local pond excavation and subsequently examined by a team including experts from Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur. Preliminary assessment places the find in Jurassic rocks of the Lathi Formation near the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, making it the first well-preserved phytosaur reported from India. Early field observations suggest a semi-aquatic predator adapted to fish-eating, adding a crucial datapoint to the subcontinent’s patchy record of early Mesozoic vertebrates and offering new clues to paleo-environments in what is now the Thar Desert.
The discovery comes amid a flurry of fossil reports from the Jaisalmer region in recent days, including a possible “flying dinosaur” (pterosaur-like) specimen, underscoring the area’s fast-emerging status as a South Asian paleontology hotspot. Authorities say the phytosaur remains will undergo detailed laboratory study, including stratigraphic correlation and comparative anatomy, to refine its age and taxonomic identity, while local officials coordinate site protection and potential museum curation. Scientists note that the find could help trace faunal survivorship across the end-Triassic transition and strengthen India’s global research collaborations on early Mesozoic ecosystems.

Source- BBC News, Times of Oman, NDTV, Forbes.