The Hindu Business Line : Steps sought for protecting geological site

TIRUCHI: With researchers recently unearthing 65 million-year-old fossilised dinosaur eggs at a village in Ariyalur district, academicians have asked authorities to protect the geological site for future scientific analysis.

The cluster of eggs, of what is believed to be the most aggressive Carnoaur, buried in a river bed in the village, was discovered by researchers from Salem Periyar University, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, and Bharathidasan University here.

The entire locality in Ariyalur is filled with fossils and other materials belonging to Jurassic age due to sea transgression, reported to have taken place in the belts of Tiruchirappalli, Perambalur and Ariyalur districts about 65 million years ago, Mr P. Chandrasekar, a senior geologist, told PTI.

However, he said, all the materials removed on surface exploration and mines excavations could not be considered as eggs of dinosaur. These items should be subjected to tests and analysis like carbon dating to know the facts, he said.

Most of the time, these specimens are phosphoric nodules, which look like large sized eggs and when broken open interior crust was seen in black colour, he said.

“The interior crust in black is nothing but a raw material for phosphorus or phosphoric chemical production. It is dangerous to meddle with it since phosphoric content is liable to burst any time and the contents are highly toxic to human beings,’’ he sa id. — PTI

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