Shivalik Fossil Park
Shivalik Fossil Park, also known as the Suketi Fossil Park ,
Location
The park is named after the Suketi village where it is located, at the site where the fossils were found, in the
It is 70 km from Chandigarh, 48 km from Yamunanagar, 48 km from Ambala and 250 km from Delhi. There is a narrow side lane to reach the park. Preferably use a small vehicle to get there.
History
The idea to establish a museum was mooted to preserve the fossil site and the fossils from being indiscriminately extracted and vandalized.[5] It was also intended to provide prehistoric period scientific information for scholarly research. The Geological Survey of India, in association with the Government of Himachal Pradesh, established the park on 23 March 1974. The park is also maintained by the Geological Survey of India.[5][9]
The Geological Survey of India identifies the fossils as vertebrates that lived in the area about 2.5 million years ago,.[5][1] Scientists believe that the Shivalik Hills, which formed about twenty-five million years ago, show the evolution of mankind.[10] The mammalian fossils found in the Shiwaliks of this park are one of the world's richest antiquities.[6]
Features
The fiberglass models on display in an open area, outside the museum are of six extinct animals.[5][6] They are: Huge land tortoise, gharial, four–horned giraffe, sabre-toothed cat, large tusked elephant, and hippopotamus.[5][6][8]
The Saketi Park has a unique feature, in a miniature form, of the prehistoric biological record of the Upper Siwalik rocks, similar to those found in the Patwar Plateau and adjacent hills, also in Mangla dam areas in the region.[11][12]
Models
A model depicts a sabre-tooth cat with very long upper canine teeth to tear its prey. This animal became extinct about a million years ago, at the same time that many species of elephants became extinct. The hippopotamus model, life-size and similar to its modern counterpart, has six incisors with a comparatively larger mouth, but with a small brain cavity, longer lower jaw, and legs like a pig. This species, which existed in large numbers about 2.5 million years ago, is now extinct. The model of the giant land tortoise, representing a species found in the Shivalik region, is the largest of all tortoises, but its modern counterpart is much smaller. Other models depict giant elephants that roamed the area 7 to 1.5 million years ago. Compared to modern elephants, they had a smaller
Museum Museum exhibits contain skeletal remains of different groups of skulls and limbs of mammals, skulls of
Exhibits also include an Indian postage stamp with images of two elephants and tusks, issued in 1951 on the occasion of the centenary of the Geological Survey of India.[8]
See also
- Kalesar National Park, next to the fossil park on eastern side
- Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary, next to the fossil park on western side
- Morni Hills, next to the fossil park on western side
- Mandla Plant Fossils National Park
- National Fossil Wood Park, Tiruvakkarai
- Ghughua Fossil Park
References
- ^ a b Chatterjee 1974, p. 351.
- ^ National Geological Monument, from Geological Survey of India website Archived 12 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Geo-Heritage Sites, Minister of Mines Press release, 09-March-2016
- ^ national geo-heritage of India, INTACH
- ^ a b c d e f g "Siwalik Fossil Park". Geological Survey of India.
- ^ a b c d e "Nature Parks". Suketi Fossil Park. explorevelly.co.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Singh & Anand, p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e "Asia's lone fossil park". The Tribune. 2003.
- ^ Chand 1974, p. 22.
- ^ Chaudhry 2007, p. 75.
- ^ Wang & Flynn 2013, p. 356.
- ^ Anantharāmu & Sundaram 2001, p. 23.
- ^ France 1994, pp. 67–68.
- ^ Mukerji 1992, p. 171.
- ^ Aitken 2003, p. 161.
Bibliography
- Aitken, Bill (2003). Footloose in the Himalaya. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-7824-052-7.
- Anantharāmu, Ṭi. Ār; Sundaram, R. (2001). Rāshṭrīya Bhūvaijñānika smārakeṃ. Geological Survey of India.
- Chand, Diwan (1974). Indian Recorder and Digest. Indian Information Centre.
- Chatterjee, Ramananda (1974). The Modern Review. Modern Review Office.
- Chaudhry, Minakshi (2007). Destination Himachal: Over 132 Offbeat and 12 Popular Getaways. Rupa & Company. ISBN 978-81-291-0715-2.
- France, Société géologique de (1994). Mémoires de la Société géologique de France. Société géologique de France.
- Mukerji, Anath Bandhu (1992). Himalayan environment, man, and the economic activities: essays in honour of Professor A.B. Mukerji. Pointer Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7132-046-2.
- Singh, R.B.; Anand, Subhash. "Siwalik Fossil Park, Saketi" (PDF). University of Delhi.
- Wang, Xiaoming; Flynn, Lawrence John (1 January 2013). Fossil Mammals of Asia: Neogene Biostratigraphy and Chronology. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-15012-5.