India first discovered fossils of fish lizards

For the first time, scientists said, the Ichthyosaur fossil skeleton - a marine reptile that lives with dinosaurs has been discovered in India.

It is the fossil of ichthyosaurs, meaning "fish lizard" in Greek, which was found in North America and Europe before.

However, in the southern hemisphere, they live mainly limited to South America and Australia.

The research team, including researchers from Delhi University and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) in Germany, found what they believed to be fossils of the first Jurassic ichthyosaur in India, from the region. Kachchh in Gujarat.

The nearly complete skeleton, nearly 5.5 meters long, is believed to belong to the Ophthalmosauridae family, which could live about 165 to 90 million years ago.

It is found among the fossils of ammonium and belemnite species, and its worn teeth indicate that it predates hard animals in that area.

"This is a remarkable discovery not only because it is the first trace of fish lizard fossils in India, but it also shows the evolution and diversity of ichthyosaurs in the Indo-Madagasca region of Gondwanaland first. here and India's biological connection to other continents in the Jurassic period, "said Guntupalli Prasad, of the Geological Department of Delhi University.