A fossil-rich region of India's war-torn state of Kashmir could be blasted out of existence by mining operations, according to eyewitness accounts by geologists.
Fossil beds in the rocky Guryul Ravine, just south of the city of Srinagar, date back 260 million years to the pre-dinosaur Permian period.
Photograph by Fayaz Kabil/Reuters
Specimens from the site include primordial corals, small invertebrates, plants, and a group of mammal-like reptiles known as therapsids.
But the fossils lie inside rich tracts of limestone—a key ingredient in cement manufacturing.
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# Posted by Michelle Moran @ |
Wednesday, February 06, 2008