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Context

• At Madhya Pradesh’s Bhimbetka Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, fossils of Indian Dickinsonia were found earlier in 2021 from Maihar Sandstone of Vindhyan basin.
• Now these fossil remains are disproved by Indian scientists and not found to be true fossils.
• These are left-over impression of a fallen beehive not the fossils of Indian Dickinsonia.

Other Details

• In 2021 this discovery of Indian DIckinsonia fossil was made by researchers and members of University of Oregon’s Gregory J Retallack, and Geological Survey of India. These findings were published in Gondwana Research journal.
• Indian Dickinsonia is considered a 550-million-year-old earliest known living animal. Hence believed to be a primitive animal that once inhabited seabeds.
• The fossils which belong to Precambrian Era (4000-538 million years), are scrutinized by scientists for their authenticity as they help us to understand the beginning and growth of life on the planet.
• Hence Scientists from Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, inspired by Vindhyan supergroup, tried to follow-up and scrutinize fossil Dickinsonia tenuis.
• They undertook a field study to examine the fossils.
• In the closer examination of the fossil, for establishing biogenicity, they found it to be the impression of a fallen beehive as it had traces of honey and wax, confirmed by laser Raman Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction.
• Presence of honeycomb structure was also there.

Vindhyan Supergroup

• It is the largest and thickest sedimentary basins (covering an area of 1,62,000 sq.km) of the world.
• It is named after the Vindhyan mountain of India, which has witnessed discoveries of various fossils.
• These fossils help us to understand the origin and evolution of life on earth.
• It has a long and elaborated sequence of sandstones, shales, limestone and other shallow marine deposits which is 5 kilometre thick.
• Owing to the presence of thick Vindhyan rocks, it archives the history, more than 1 billion years old, of the earth.
• American scientists, biologists and palaeontologists, associated with Vindhyan Supergroup, found similarity of fossils of Indian Dickinsonia with Ediacaran fossils.
• This super group is divided into 4 subgroups which are
  • Kaimur Group
  • Semri Group
  • Rewa Group and
  • Bhander Group

Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences

• It is an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology.
• It is located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and was established in 1946.
• Objectives –
  • To explore and develop palaeobotany as a science.
  • To understand and solve issues of origin and evolution of plant life.
  • Application of palaeosciences to oil and coal industry in exploration of fossil fuels.

Must read Article:

Bhimbetka

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/bhimbetka

UNESCO World heritage sites

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/unesco-world-heritage-sites 

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1932919

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