LAHORE: A researcher of the Punjab University’s Zoology Department on Saturday unearthed the skull of a stegodon female elephant. The species is a sister group of the mammoth.
The fossil was found near Panjan Sher Shahana in Gujrat on Thursday. The researcher took two days to excavate it without damaging the fossil.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Syed Ghyour Abbas said the site where the skull had been found was known as ‘sawalik’, an international designation for sites where pre-historic fossils were often found. He said 20,000 to 1.1 million-year old animal bones had been found in the area. However, it was the first time a pre-historic elephant skull was found there.
He said the skull would be moved to a hydrocarbon research laboratory for tests to determine the age and the family of the elephant.
He said the right tusk was intact and the left tusk was partially broken. “The tusks are small. It means that it is a female,” he said. “Overall, it is in a good condition. The ventral side is slightly damaged but the posterior is fine,” he added.
Abbas said he had been carrying out excavations in Pabi for over a year. He said that he had found remains of deer, rhinos and pigs during his research.“There is a dearth of research on animal remains in this site,” he said. “It is believed that these animals migrated to the area because there was a large body of water here.”
Abbas said Sar Dhok, seven kilometres from Panjan, was known for prehistoric animal fossils.
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