On February 5, 2007, explorers of the Mangal Panchayatan Parishad have stumbled across more than 100 fossilized eggs of dinosaurs belonging to the Upper Cretaceous Era, when dinosaurs were almost extinct, (approximately 144 to 65 million years ago) in Mandav (Madhya Pradesh state, about 280 kilometers / 175 miles west of Bhopal), India.
There were three explorers that came across this rare find, who are all amateur paleontologists, were named Vishal Verma, Rajesh Chouhan, and Govind Verma. This discovery marks a significant step forward in the study of pre-historic life in the Narmada Valley. Scientists will also be able to better understand more about the spread of the dinosaurs and may even shed some light on the reasons for their extinction.
Each one of the fossilized eggs found are the size of a softbal. One of the finders, Vishal Verma, characterized the eggs as coming from three types of sauropod dinosaurs, but he did not get too specific.
"All the eggs were discovered from a single nesting site in a start to end exploration for 18 hours at the site in Kukshi-Bagh area, 40 kms from Manavar. As many as 6-8 eggs were found per nests," says an excited Vishal Verma, as told to the Hindustan Times from near the site.
The eggs are from three different types of soropaud dinosaurs, which were herbivorous and ranged from 40-90 feet in length, when adults. When these dinosaurs needed to lay their eggs, they used to go in far away areas to lay them upon the sandy banks of the rivers in this area. This area is identified scientifically as the Lameta bed.
India's Dinosaur Facts:
Hindu Times News Article:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1920136,00040009.htm
Hindu Times News on Dinosaur Eggs:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=4ecd76e1-cffa-4092-a215-b5d187697f21
National Geographic's Article on Findings in India:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070205-dinosaur-photo.html
* The richest dinosaur field in India is the "Deccan Traps," near Jabalpur, in Madhya Pradesh.
* About 65 million years ago, a huge mass of volcanic rock erupted from the earth, covering 500,000 sq km in Maharashtra and MP with lava 2 km high. This is exactly the time when all large dinosaur species became extinct.
* A small, but ferocious dinosaur, about the size of an adult human, was named Jubbulpuria after it was found in Jabalput by Matley in 1933.
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