A collection of 15-million-year-old fossils, locally known as "Asura Hadda" or "demon bones", has been discovered in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district during a routine college field trip, shedding new light on the region's prehistoric marine past.
According to ANI, the discovery was made in Baripada and points to the existence of an ancient shallow sea that once covered large parts of present-day Mayurbhanj. Researchers say the findings provide valuable evidence of a rich marine ecosystem that thrived in the area during the Miocene epoch, around 15 million years ago.
The fossils were unearthed from the Baripada Fossil Bed, which extends from Dera in the Kuliana block to Pratappur in the Badasahi block. Scientists believe the site preserves remnants of a diverse underwater habitat that existed when the region was submerged beneath shallow seawaters.
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