Rajasaurus
Encyclopedia
Rajasaurus is a genus
of carnivorous abelisaur
ian theropod dinosaur
with an unusual head crest. Between 1982 and 1984, its fossil
ized bones were discovered by Suresh Srivastava of the Geological Survey of India
(GSI). Excavated from the Narmada River
valley in Rahioli in the Kheda district
of Gujarat, India
, the find was announced as a new genus of dinosaur by American and Indian scientists on August 13, 2003
.
Paleontologists Paul Sereno
of the University of Chicago
, Jeff Wilson
of the University of Michigan
, and Srivastava worked together as an Indo–American group to study the Narmada River fossils. The fossils represented the partial skeleton of the new species Rajasaurus narmadensis, which means "princely lizard from the Narmada Valley."
The fossilized bones of Rajasaurus have also been found in the upriver region of the Narmada, at Jabalpur, in the state of Madhya Pradesh
.
known to have lived only on landmasses that were part of the supercontinent
Gondwana
, such as Africa
, India, Madagascar
, and South America
. Rajasaurus closely resembles Majungasaurus
, a contemporary abelisaur from Madagascar, an island that had separated from the Indian landmass about 20 million years earlier. It was found to be an abelisaurid through a phylogenetic analysis
of anatomical characteristics, and was described as a carnotaurine abelisaurid (the subfamily
including Carnotaurus
) because of the configuration of its nasal bone
s and its possession of a growth ("excrescence
") on its frontal bone
. Rajasaurus is distinguished from other genera by its single nasal-frontal horn, the elongated proportions of its supratemporal fenestrae (holes in the upper rear of the skull), and the form of the ilia
(principle bones of the hip) which feature a transverse ridge separating the brevis shelf from the hip joint.
Rajasaurus was identified from a partial skeleton including a well–preserved skull (with a complete braincase and 70% of the rest of the skull bones recovered), hip bones and parts of the hind legs, backbone and tail. This specimen, GSI
21141/1–33, serves as the type specimen
of the genus and species. Rajasaurus measured about 7.6–9 m (24.9–29.5 ft) long, 2.4 m (7.9 ft) in height, and weighed about 3 to 4 tons. The skull was short, measuring 60 cm (23.6 in) in length, and bore a distinctive low rounded horn. This horn is made up of outgrowths from the nasal and frontal bones.
The Narmada River
in central India
drains its valley from east to west, in a rift valley and eventually into the Arabian Sea
after traveling 1312 km (815.2 mi). Dinosaur bones have been reported from the Narmada valley since the late 19th century, including some belonging to Titanosaurus indicus
.
The history of the fossils named Rajasaurus begins in 1981. When G.N. Dwivedi and D.M. Mohabey, geologists of the Geological Survey of India
, were on a mapping mission, the workers of the ACC Cement quarry at Rahioli, in Gujarat showed them smooth ball-like limestone
structures from the quarry. These "balls" turned out to be dinosaurian eggs. The geologists also found that the limestone bed containing the fossilized eggs was underlain by a layer of coarse sandstone
and conglomerate
with abundant dinosaurian fossil bones.
During the years 1982–84 Suresh Srivastava, a GSI geologist at the Palaeontology Division of the GSI's Western Region, collected large numbers of bone fossil fragments from Rahioli, and also precisely mapped the area. These fossils were taken to the Palaeontology Division at Jaipur
for identification. U. B. Mathur and Suresh Srivastava, under the supervision of S. C. Pant, meticulously cleaned many of the skeletal parts (braincase, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, sacrum
, thigh bone
, upper arm
, shin
bones, and others), leading to the publication of multiple research papers. There was a lull in further activity until a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) was signed with the Punjab University
in 1994–95.
In 2001, further research on the fossils was continued by two American scientists sponsored by the American Institute of Indian Studies, New Delhi
and the National Geographic Society
, U.S.A. The Americans, Paul Sereno and Jeff Wilson, started the reconstruction of the collection of dinosaur bones gathered in 1983 and 1984. The team of scientists, after a detailed study of the maps prepared earlier by Srivastava, were able to reconstruct the partial skull, left and right hip bones, and a sacrum. They interpreted the part of a skull and a horn as resembling those of dinosaurs found in Madagascar
. Fossils of Rajasaurus were also found near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. In all, the collected fossils include a partial skull, limb bones, hip bones, and vertebrae.
Although Rajasaurus was formally described in 2003, there are fossils described in 1923 that may belong to this genus. Charles Alfred Matley
described Lametasaurus indicus
in that year from specimens including an ilium
, a sacrum, a shin bone, and armor scutes
found at Bara Simla. Lametasaurus was later shown to be a chimera
, and Wilson et al. suggested that the ilium and sacrum (now lost) were exemplars of the similarly stout Rajasaurus.
The discovery of Rajasaurus could lead to additional information on the evolutionary relationships of abelisaurs, since previously described specimens from India were mainly isolated bones. At a press conference held in 2003 on the discovery of Rajasaurus, Sereno stated:
from Madagascar
and Carnotaurus
from South America
; these animals descended from a common lineage.
Rajasaurus has been found in the Lameta Formation
. This rock unit represents a forested setting of rivers and lakes that formed between episodes of volcanism. The volcanic rocks are now known as the Deccan Traps
. Rajasaur and sauropod fossils are known from river and lake deposits that were quickly buried by Deccan volcanic flows. Other dinosaurs from the Lameta Formation include the noasaurid
Laevisuchus
, abelisaurids Indosaurus
and Indosuchus
, and the titanosaur
ian sauropods Jainosaurus
, Titanosaurus
, and Isisaurus
.
Coprolite
s have been recorded in the Lameta Formation, and the presence of fungi in coprolites indicates that leaves were eaten by the dinosaurs which lived in a tropical or subtropical climate. Another scientific study of similarities in egg taxa suggested close phyletic
relationships that supports the existence of a terrestrial
connection between dinosaurian fauna in India and Europe during the Cretaceous
, and between two Gondwana
n areas, Patagonia
and India.
installed life–size fibreglass models of Rajasaurus and Titanosaurus at their Lucknow
regional office. The installation is presented in an appropriate setting, with representations of plants that existed during the Mesozoic Era. Also displayed are limb bones, vertebra, eggs and coprolites of sauropod dinosaurs and fossil eggs of Rajasaurus collected from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
A restored skull of Rajasaurus is a prominent exhibit in the Indian Museum
at Kolkata
.
Also interested in Rajasaurus is Princess Aliya Babi (of the royal family of Balasinore), who became a dinosaur enthusiast after closely watching the efforts made by GSI at Rahioli to unearth the fossils, and made efforts to promote dinosaur tourism to Rahioli in order to showcase its millions of years of dinosaur heritage. She also set up a small museum at her hotel.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of carnivorous abelisaur
Abelisaur
Abelisaurs were a group of ceratosaurian dinosaurs which lived in the Southern hemisphere during the Cretaceous period. Some well-known dinosaurs of this group include Abelisaurus, Carnotaurus, and Majungasaurus. They are known for their small arms...
ian theropod dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
with an unusual head crest. Between 1982 and 1984, its fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized bones were discovered by Suresh Srivastava of the Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...
(GSI). Excavated from the Narmada River
Narmada River
The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
valley in Rahioli in the Kheda district
Kheda district
Kheda district is one of the 26 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Kheda city is the administrative headquarters of the district.-History:...
of Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the find was announced as a new genus of dinosaur by American and Indian scientists on August 13, 2003
2003 in paleontology
-New taxa:-Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-New taxa:-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:-newly named:-Conifers:-Angiosperms:...
.
Paleontologists Paul Sereno
Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno is an American paleontologist from the University of Chicago who discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents. He has conducted excavations at sites as varied as Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco, and Niger...
of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Jeff Wilson
Jeffrey A. Wilson
Jeffrey A. Wilson also known as "JAW "is a professor of geological sciences and assistant curator at the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan....
of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and Srivastava worked together as an Indo–American group to study the Narmada River fossils. The fossils represented the partial skeleton of the new species Rajasaurus narmadensis, which means "princely lizard from the Narmada Valley."
The fossilized bones of Rajasaurus have also been found in the upriver region of the Narmada, at Jabalpur, in the state of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
.
Description
Rajasaurus was an abelisaurid, a member of a group of theropod predatorsPredation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
known to have lived only on landmasses that were part of the supercontinent
Supercontinent
In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and accreted terranes that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today.-History:...
Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
, such as Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, India, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Rajasaurus closely resembles Majungasaurus
Majungasaurus
Majungasaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 65.5 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Only one species has been identified...
, a contemporary abelisaur from Madagascar, an island that had separated from the Indian landmass about 20 million years earlier. It was found to be an abelisaurid through a phylogenetic analysis
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
of anatomical characteristics, and was described as a carnotaurine abelisaurid (the subfamily
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
including Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus was a large predatory dinosaur. Only one species, Carnotaurus sastrei has been described so far.Carnotaurus lived in Patagonia, Argentina during the Campanian or Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous...
) because of the configuration of its nasal bone
Nasal bone
The nasal bones are two small oblong bones, varying in size and form in different individuals; they are placed side by side at the middle and upper part of the face, and form, by their junction, "the bridge" of the nose.Each has two surfaces and four borders....
s and its possession of a growth ("excrescence
Excrescence
Excrescence is something that is an outgrowth of something else. Depending on the subject matter, this may or may not be something abnormal and/or disfiguring.* Excrescence is the epenthesis of a consonant....
") on its frontal bone
Frontal bone
The frontal bone is a bone in the human skull that resembles a cockleshell in form, and consists of two portions:* a vertical portion, the squama frontalis, corresponding with the region of the forehead....
. Rajasaurus is distinguished from other genera by its single nasal-frontal horn, the elongated proportions of its supratemporal fenestrae (holes in the upper rear of the skull), and the form of the ilia
Ilium (bone)
The ilium is the uppermost and largest bone of the pelvis, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds, but not bony fish. All reptiles have an ilium except snakes, although some snake species have a tiny bone which is considered to be an ilium.The name comes from the Latin ,...
(principle bones of the hip) which feature a transverse ridge separating the brevis shelf from the hip joint.
Rajasaurus was identified from a partial skeleton including a well–preserved skull (with a complete braincase and 70% of the rest of the skull bones recovered), hip bones and parts of the hind legs, backbone and tail. This specimen, GSI
Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...
21141/1–33, serves as the type specimen
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
of the genus and species. Rajasaurus measured about 7.6–9 m (24.9–29.5 ft) long, 2.4 m (7.9 ft) in height, and weighed about 3 to 4 tons. The skull was short, measuring 60 cm (23.6 in) in length, and bore a distinctive low rounded horn. This horn is made up of outgrowths from the nasal and frontal bones.
History of discovery
Narmada River
The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
in central India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
drains its valley from east to west, in a rift valley and eventually into the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
after traveling 1312 km (815.2 mi). Dinosaur bones have been reported from the Narmada valley since the late 19th century, including some belonging to Titanosaurus indicus
Titanosaurus
Titanosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, first described by Lydekker in 1877. It is known from the Maastrichtian Lameta Formation of India...
.
The history of the fossils named Rajasaurus begins in 1981. When G.N. Dwivedi and D.M. Mohabey, geologists of the Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...
, were on a mapping mission, the workers of the ACC Cement quarry at Rahioli, in Gujarat showed them smooth ball-like limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
structures from the quarry. These "balls" turned out to be dinosaurian eggs. The geologists also found that the limestone bed containing the fossilized eggs was underlain by a layer of coarse sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
with abundant dinosaurian fossil bones.
During the years 1982–84 Suresh Srivastava, a GSI geologist at the Palaeontology Division of the GSI's Western Region, collected large numbers of bone fossil fragments from Rahioli, and also precisely mapped the area. These fossils were taken to the Palaeontology Division at Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
for identification. U. B. Mathur and Suresh Srivastava, under the supervision of S. C. Pant, meticulously cleaned many of the skeletal parts (braincase, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, sacrum
Sacrum
In vertebrate anatomy the sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is inserted like a wedge between the two hip bones. Its upper part connects with the last lumbar vertebra, and bottom part with the coccyx...
, thigh bone
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
, upper arm
Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
, shin
Tibia
The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
bones, and others), leading to the publication of multiple research papers. There was a lull in further activity until a Memorandum of Understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
(MOU) was signed with the Punjab University
Panjab University, Chandigarh
Panjab University is one of the oldest universities in India. The university campus is residential, spread over an area of in sectors 14 and 25 of the city of Chandigarh...
in 1994–95.
In 2001, further research on the fossils was continued by two American scientists sponsored by the American Institute of Indian Studies, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
, U.S.A. The Americans, Paul Sereno and Jeff Wilson, started the reconstruction of the collection of dinosaur bones gathered in 1983 and 1984. The team of scientists, after a detailed study of the maps prepared earlier by Srivastava, were able to reconstruct the partial skull, left and right hip bones, and a sacrum. They interpreted the part of a skull and a horn as resembling those of dinosaurs found in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. Fossils of Rajasaurus were also found near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. In all, the collected fossils include a partial skull, limb bones, hip bones, and vertebrae.
Although Rajasaurus was formally described in 2003, there are fossils described in 1923 that may belong to this genus. Charles Alfred Matley
Charles Alfred Matley
Charles Alfred Matley was a British paleontologist and geologist in India, the British West Indies and Wales.He married Sarah A. Loach in Birmingham in 1891....
described Lametasaurus indicus
Lametasaurus
Lametasaurus named for the Lameta Formation, Jabalpur, India, is the generic name given to a possible dubious dinosaur species. Originally it indicated a possible chimera composed of several different animals....
in that year from specimens including an ilium
Ilium (bone)
The ilium is the uppermost and largest bone of the pelvis, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds, but not bony fish. All reptiles have an ilium except snakes, although some snake species have a tiny bone which is considered to be an ilium.The name comes from the Latin ,...
, a sacrum, a shin bone, and armor scutes
Osteoderm
Osteoderms are bony deposits forming scales, plates or other structures in the dermal layers of the skin. Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles, including lizards, various groups of dinosaurs , crocodilians, phytosaurs, aetosaurs, placodonts, and hupehsuchians...
found at Bara Simla. Lametasaurus was later shown to be a chimera
Chimera (paleontology)
In paleontology, a chimera is a fossil which was reconstructed with elements coming from more than a single species of animal. A now classic example of chimera is Protoavis.-List of paleontological chimeras:*Brontosaurus*Lametasaurus...
, and Wilson et al. suggested that the ilium and sacrum (now lost) were exemplars of the similarly stout Rajasaurus.
The discovery of Rajasaurus could lead to additional information on the evolutionary relationships of abelisaurs, since previously described specimens from India were mainly isolated bones. At a press conference held in 2003 on the discovery of Rajasaurus, Sereno stated:
The discovery, which will be put for examination before global experts, was important since it would help in adding to the current knowledge of dinosaur belonging to the family of Abelisaur predators and adding a new angle to dinosaur in the Indian subcontinent.
Palaeobiology
Rajasaurus is known only from the Indian Peninsula. At the time it was alive, the Indian landmass had recently separated from the rest of Gondwana and was moving north. While Rajasaurus had evolved along its own direction, it was still similar to other abelisaurids such as MajungasaurusMajungasaurus
Majungasaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 65.5 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Only one species has been identified...
from Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus was a large predatory dinosaur. Only one species, Carnotaurus sastrei has been described so far.Carnotaurus lived in Patagonia, Argentina during the Campanian or Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous...
from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
; these animals descended from a common lineage.
Rajasaurus has been found in the Lameta Formation
Lameta Formation
The Lameta Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, India. It is of Maastrichtian age , and is notable for its dinosaur fossils...
. This rock unit represents a forested setting of rivers and lakes that formed between episodes of volcanism. The volcanic rocks are now known as the Deccan Traps
Deccan Traps
The Deccan Traps are a large igneous province located on the Deccan Plateau of west-central India and one of the largest volcanic features on Earth. They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that together are more than thick and cover an area of and a volume of...
. Rajasaur and sauropod fossils are known from river and lake deposits that were quickly buried by Deccan volcanic flows. Other dinosaurs from the Lameta Formation include the noasaurid
Noasauridae
Noasaurids were a group of theropod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period . They were generally small in size...
Laevisuchus
Laevisuchus
Laevisuchus is a genus of abelisauroid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous.Its remains were discovered by Charles Alfred Matley near Jabalpur in Maastrichtian deposits in the Lameta Formation in India, and named and described by paleontologists Friedrich von Huene and Matley in 1933. The...
, abelisaurids Indosaurus
Indosaurus
Indosaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur once living in what is now India. It lived approximately 69 million years ago, in the Maastrichtian division of the Late Cretaceous...
and Indosuchus
Indosuchus
Indosuchus is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period , a theropod related to Abelisaurus. Like most theropods, Indosuchus was a bipedal carnivore...
, and the titanosaur
Titanosaur
Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, which included Saltasaurus and Isisaurus. It includes some of the heaviest creatures ever to walk the earth, such as Argentinosaurus and Paralititan — which some believe have weighed up to 100 tonnes...
ian sauropods Jainosaurus
Jainosaurus
Jainosaurus is a large titanosaurian dinosaur of India and wider Asia, which lived in the Maastrichtian ....
, Titanosaurus
Titanosaurus
Titanosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, first described by Lydekker in 1877. It is known from the Maastrichtian Lameta Formation of India...
, and Isisaurus
Isisaurus
Isisaurus is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period. Isisaurus was a sauropod , which lived in what is now India....
.
Coprolite
Coprolite
A coprolite is fossilized animal dung. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour rather than morphology. The name is derived from the Greek words κοπρος / kopros meaning 'dung' and λιθος / lithos meaning 'stone'. They...
s have been recorded in the Lameta Formation, and the presence of fungi in coprolites indicates that leaves were eaten by the dinosaurs which lived in a tropical or subtropical climate. Another scientific study of similarities in egg taxa suggested close phyletic
Phylogenetics
In biology, phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms , which is discovered through molecular sequencing data and morphological data matrices...
relationships that supports the existence of a terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
connection between dinosaurian fauna in India and Europe during the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, and between two Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
n areas, Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
and India.
Cultural interest
In order to educate people about extinct forms of life, the Geological Survey of IndiaGeological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...
installed life–size fibreglass models of Rajasaurus and Titanosaurus at their Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
regional office. The installation is presented in an appropriate setting, with representations of plants that existed during the Mesozoic Era. Also displayed are limb bones, vertebra, eggs and coprolites of sauropod dinosaurs and fossil eggs of Rajasaurus collected from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
A restored skull of Rajasaurus is a prominent exhibit in the Indian Museum
Indian Museum
The Indian Museum is the largest museum in India and has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings...
at Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
.
Also interested in Rajasaurus is Princess Aliya Babi (of the royal family of Balasinore), who became a dinosaur enthusiast after closely watching the efforts made by GSI at Rahioli to unearth the fossils, and made efforts to promote dinosaur tourism to Rahioli in order to showcase its millions of years of dinosaur heritage. She also set up a small museum at her hotel.
See also
- List of Indian and Madagascan dinosaurs
- 2003 in paleontology2003 in paleontology-New taxa:-Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-New taxa:-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:-newly named:-Conifers:-Angiosperms:...