A stone ball that has been revered as divine in an Indian family for generations turns out to be a dinosaur egg. According to researchers, this comes from a herbivorous Titanosaurus that lived in central India millions and millions of years ago.
Mahesh Thakkar of Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow and other scientists met farmer Vesta Mandloi and the alleged stone ball as a geological park is set to be opened in the region in Madhya Pradesh state, as Thakkar reported.
Stone balls worshiped as a symbol of the god Shiva
Mandloi and other farmers in Padlya village and surrounding settlements worship stone balls as a symbol of the popular Hindu god Shiva and as guardians of the land and livestock, the report said. The researchers also found dinosaur eggs in the surrounding settlements.
A large number of dinosaur bones, teeth and eggs have already been found in the fossil-rich area. As recently as January, researchers reported in the journal “PLOS One” about the discovery of 92 titanosaur clutches containing a total of 256 eggs (photo above). Some nests are located in and around Padlya.
Extinct about 66 million years ago
The titanosaurs were a group of so-called sauropod dinosaurs, rich in species and forms. They lived mainly during the Cretaceous Period and were the last group of sauropods, becoming extinct only about 66 million years ago at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, at the same time as all other non-avian dinosaurs. Fossils of these animals have been discovered on every continent.
Like all sauropods, the body plan of these herbivores is characterized by a barrel-shaped torso, a long neck, and a very small head in relation to their size.
Source: Krone
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