37,000-year-old thorny bamboo fossil from Manipur's Imphal Valley reveals Ice Age secret
Scientists of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) reported a 37,000-year-old thorny bamboo fossil, Chimonobambusa manipurensis, from the Chirang River deposits of Manipur's Imphal Valley — the earliest thorny bamboo fossil from Asia (DST release, 27 November 2025).
Summary
BSIP, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, found the bamboo stem with thorn scars during field surveys of silt-rich deposits of the Chirang River. Based on nodes, buds and thorn scars, it was assigned to the genus Chimonobambusa. It is the first fossil evidence that thorniness in bamboo, a defence against herbivores, already existed in Asia during the Ice Age. The study, published in Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, also highlights the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot as a refugium.
Key facts
- Fossil
- Chimonobambusa manipurensis (thorny bamboo)
- Age
- ~37,000 years
- Site
- Chirang River deposits, Imphal Valley, Manipur
- Institute
- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), DST
- Significance
- Earliest thorny bamboo fossil from Asia; first fossil evidence of bamboo thorniness in the Ice Age
- Journal
- Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
Practice MCQs 3 questions
A 37,000-year-old thorny bamboo fossil reported in November 2025 was found in which Indian state?
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Correct answer: D — Manipur
It was found in the Chirang River deposits of Manipur's Imphal Valley.
Which institute's scientists discovered the 37,000-year-old thorny bamboo fossil Chimonobambusa manipurensis?
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Correct answer: B — Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences
Scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous institute of DST, made the find.
Consider the following statements about the Chimonobambusa manipurensis fossil: 1. It is the earliest thorny bamboo fossil from Asia. 2. It provides the first fossil evidence that thorniness in bamboo existed in Asia during the Ice Age. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: C — Both 1 and 2
Both are correct as per the DST release on the BSIP study.