The sights of the BOENY - BERIVOTRA
Berivotra, quiet village of Northeast, is every year the subject of intense scientific activity. And for good reason, its basement contains the finest fossils of dinosaurs in the southern hemisphere, and perhaps the key to the mystery of their extinction. Worthy of a Spielberg movie !
Berivotra is a fossiliferous area of considerable interest, explains Dr. Rasoamiaramanana. In addition to the dinosaurs, We could highlight some 50 species of fish, Bird, crocodiles or mammalian reptiles going back to more of 65 million years, just before the extinction of the dinosaurs. ". The word is out ! Study of the basement of Berivotra could indeed bring one day the answer to the mystery of the disappearance of the "terrible lizards." (translation of dinosaurs) at the end of the Cretaceous. Victims of a giant meteorite fell on Earth, abrupt climate change ? The scientific community is yet to assumptions, but the fossils of Berivotra have this priceless they are indeed contemporary of the "great catastrophe"..
The landscape of the Berivotra formation is formed by characteristic flat hills of Mahajanga, who are the witnesses of training buttes called the cuestas.
The vegetative environment consists of Savannah dotted with islets of dry forests, Palm trees and jujube.
Berivotra is part of the Mahajanga basin, formed by three formations from the upper Cretaceous of the Mesozoic era :
-the Maevarano formation (the Campanian) to continental sandstone,
-the formation of the village of Berivotra (the Maestrichtien) to grey marl
-Betsiboka training (the Danian) at the top, at Marly limestones.
The fossils found in the Maevarano formation are very diversified :
-Fish,
-Amphibians as b. ampinga (the largest fossilized frog from the world),
-Turtles, Snakes, Crocodiles,
-Dinosaurs as Majungatholus atopus, Masiakasaurus and Majungasaurus crenatissumus,
-Birds like astromis and Vorona berivotrensis Rahonavis.
The village of Berivotra formation consists of fossils of sea urchins, the embryo and Brachiopods and
deposits are marine.
At the top of the Berivotra formation, There are ancient volcanic ash and deposits are continental.
