Giant size plant fossils discovered near Jodhpur

NEW DELHI: The largest non-carbonaceous plant fossils, 140 times bigger than today's algae species, have been discovered in western Rajasthan, opening a new window for understanding evolution of life on earth.

A team of researchers from the University of Lucknow have discovered the fossils with physical characteristics of Vaucheriacean plant, a type of yellow-green algae found in fresh or marine water, five kms from Jodhpur in Sursagar mines region.

Generally plant fossils contain carbon and have simple structures. Fossils which are non-carbonaceous or lacking carbon content are rare, according to the scientists.

The findings of mega-plant fossils imply a high possibility of presence of hydrocarbons in the Marwar Basin as the Vaucheriacean plants are known to reserve oil as food material, the University said.

The fossils, which are visible to the naked eye are well-preserved with the size of the plant 140 times larger than the existing species, lead author of the paper, Surendra Kumar of Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow said.

The scientists said the plants attained such large size during the Ediacaran period some 630-542 million years ago.

The occurrence of giant-sized plant fossils in Jodhpur sandstone has opened a new window for understanding the evolution of life, especially the phenomena of giganticism in plants during the period, the scientists said.