Telangana: 6.5 crore-year-old fossils found in Sitagondi forest of Adilabad

HYDERABAD: After Ginnedari finding of gastropod fossils recently, history enthusiasts discovered similar fossils in Sitagondi forest in Gudihatnur of Adilabad district.
The site abuts the national highway connecting Adilabad to Hyderabad and is located 100 km from Ginnedari. Hundreds of limestone shells were found in the densely forested area at Sitagondi of Mekalagandi. History enthusiast B Venugopal Reddy of Adilabad, a member of Kotha Telangana Charitra group, found these fossils.
Sriramoju Haragopal of the group said these are 6.5 crore years old. “These include snails, oysters, leaves and plant parts as well as microscopic fossils such as charophytes and ostropods. Gudihatnur area is said to be rich in fossils. It was mentioned in Geology India’s records,” he said. Haragopal demanded the government to work on the discoveries further.
The fossils were confirmed by the experts as well.
GSI former deputy director general Chakilam Venugopal Rao said he had visited the area a few years ago. Sitagondi forest is part of Deccan volcanic province that spreads over largely in Maharashtra and adjoining areas of Telangana. “Due to flow of lava, sedimentary layers are formed. This happened 65 million years ago. Generally, fresh water gets trapped in the layers,” he said.
Venugopal Rao said fossil fragments were clearly seen here. “They are bivalves probably belonging to genus Unio. These are from the intertrappean beds that occur as thin sediments sandwiched between lava flows. Dr Yadagiri reported dinosaur bones from the intertrappean beds at Ada near Asifabad,” he said.
Hundreds of limestone shells were found in the densely forested area . History enthusiast B Venugopal Reddy of Adilabad, a member of Kotha Telangana Charitra group, found these fossils