350 million-year-old fossil comes to Mumbai

It came before the dinosaurs. It existed on this planet 350 million years ago, and survived for almost 80 million years before it became extinct. On Saturday, it will be back from the dead — a fossil on display at the geology department of the St Xavier’s College.

Mesosaurus Braziliensis was one of the first reptiles to return to the water in which its amphibian ancestors originally lived. The fossil of the crocodile lizard, one metre in length, is 96% intact, etched on a limestone block gifted to the college by the consul general of Brazil, Fausto Godoy, earlier this week.

“We are mostly surrounded by volcanic rock. There is very little fossil history to be spoken about. The nearest remnants are found in Gujarat,” Dr Hrishikesh Samant, associate professor, department of geology, St Xavier’s College, said.

“It is too precious a gift. Full vertebrate fossils are rarely available. Most amazingly, numerous thin filter teeth of the vertebrate are still intact,” he added.

Godoy, an avid antique collector himself, told DNA that the reptile lived in freshwater. “It shows how South America and South Africa were once parts of the same continent. Mesosaurus Braziliensis lived only in fresh water. It would have been impossible for them to cross the saline ocean.”

Asked why he gifted such a precious fossil to the college, Godoy, who will soon open a wing for Asian exhibits at the Sao Paulo museum, said, “I am a firm believer that we should share all the good things of life. Treasures like this (fossil) belong to the whole of the world. They are to be exposed and not kept in one place.

“I could have given it to a museum. But I gave it to Xavier’s instead because I hope it will stimulate students to think. They will just not stare at the fossil and appreciate it. They will study it, analyse it, and learn from it.”

The college should thank its ancient Indian culture department for the precious gift. It had tied up with the Brazilian consulate in December to celebrate BrazIndia, a programme to promote Brazilian and Indian cultures.

Anita Kothare, head of the ancient Indian culture department, said, “Godoy invited us to his home. Showing us his antique collection, he asked us which one we liked the most. And the next thing he did was to gift us this precious fossil.”

Dating back 350 million years to the late Carboniferous, Mesosaurus Braziliensis lived through a span of 80 million years until the Permian, and ranks among the most important fossils ever discovered. They have been unearthed in just two locations: South Africa and parts of South America, mostly Brazil. The structure of the pre-historic reptile’s skull resembles the modern-day crocodilians, though the two are unrelated.