Daily Times

LAHORE: Around 3.3 million-year-old rare elephant tusk fossil has been found from Tatrot village of Jhelum District. Ghayyour Abbas, a PhD student at the Punjab University Department of Zoology has made this marvellous discovery.

In this regard, Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasar visited PU Jhelum Campus on Tuesday. Jhelum Campus Administrator Muhammad Akram Choudhary, Department of Zoology’s Prof Dr Muhammad Akhter and others were present on the occasion. Briefing the vice chancellor about the rare discovery, Prof Dr Muhammad Akhter said that initial scientific investigations had revealed that around 6-feet rare elephant tusk perhaps belonged to the extinct Anancus genus of elephants, which roamed in the primitive forest habitat of Jhelum some 3.5 million years ago. He said that the recovered fossil specimen had been transferred to the PU Jhelum Campus. Ghayyour Abbas said that the discovery would help investigate environment of the area at that time.

He said the discovery of rare fossils of different animals from the area could also help unearth relationship among the animals of different kind. PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Zaffar Mueen Nasar extended appreciation to the PU researcher and lauded his extraordinary efforts. He directed the Department of Zoology to submit a PC-1 to Higher Education Commission (HEC) to establish a ‘Siwalik Fossils Display Museum’ at Jhelum sub-campus. Siwalik Mountain range in Jhelum, Chakwal and Miawali districts is famous for rare elephant fossils, as the geological range is regarded as the paradise of elephant fossils all over the world. The vice chancellor also paid visit to various sections of the campus and asked the officials concerned to start new academic programmes according to market demand of the surrounding areas.