Scientists uncover India's 1st gourami fossil in Shivalik, 4.5-million-year-old
Technology
Scientists just uncovered 4.5-million-year-old fish fossils in the Shivalik Range, right near the Saharanpur-Dehradun border.
This includes the first gourami fossil recorded in India, along with other freshwater fish remains.
It gives us some of the earliest evidence that aquatic life once thrived here.
Fossils show Pliocene freshwater ecosystem
The fossils show that back in the Pliocene epoch, these hills had a vibrant freshwater ecosystem with fish like gourami, snakehead, and goby, very different from what scientists thought previously.
The find suggests there were permanent freshwater bodies and lush greenery here, not just dry land.
The research was a team effort between WIHG and universities like Doon and Panjab, and it's changing how we see this region's past.