Abstract
Thick lignite deposits on the western margin of India were preserved on account of thick vegetation which got buried underneath due to tectonic activities that occurred in northwestern part of India during the early Palaeogene. Study of the fossil flora preserved in these beds is important to deduce the palaeoclimate of the region. Therefore, a field work was undertaken to collect plant fossils from the Tarkeshwar lignite mine, Surat district, Gujarat (western India) which is still unexplored as far as the plant mega-remains are concerned. A fossil wood is systematically described from the Cambay Shale Formation of the mine considered to be of early Eocene in age. It shows close affinities with Holigarna (Anacardiaceae), particularly with H. beddomei and H. grahamii. This genus is evergreen in nature and grows in the Indo-Malayan region, while both the modern analogues of the fossil are endemic to semi-evergreen to evergreen forests ofWestern Ghats, south India, located at the equator. This not only confirms the palaeolatitudinal position of the Indian subcontinent at the equator during the early Palaeogene, but also indicates the presence of equatorial rain forest in the Indian subcontinent during the period. Based on the timetree, Sapindales started to diverge in the early Palaeocene (62–57 Ma) as its oldest fossil is from the K-Pg boundary. Discovery of the present anacardiaceous fossil (belonging to Sapindales) from the early Eocene strengthens the above phylogenetic view.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AN, Z.S., KUTZBACH, J.E., PRELL, W.L. and PORTER, S.C. (2001) Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature, v.411, pp.62–66.
CHATTERJEE, S., GOSWAMI, A. and SCOTESE, C.R. (2013) The longest voyage: Tectonic, magmatic, and paleoclimatic evolution of the Indian plate during its northward flight from Gondwana to Asia. Gondwana Res., v.23, pp.238–267.
DEOTARE, B.C., KAJALE, M.D., RAJAGURU, S.N. and BASAVAIAH, N. (2004) Late Quaternary geomorphology, palynology and magnetic susceptibility of playas in western margin of the Indian Thar Desert. Jour. Indian Geophys. Union, v.8, pp.5–25.
FOREST, F. and CHASE, M.W. (2009) Eurosid II. In: S.B. Hedges and S. Kumar (Eds.), The Timetree of Life, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp.197–202.
GHOSH, S.S. and PURKAYASTHA, S.K. (1963) Family Anacardiaceae. In: S.S. Ghosh et al. (Eds.), Indian Woods-2, Manager of Publications, Delhi, pp.264–323.
ILIC, J. (1991) CSIRO atlas of hard woods. Springer, Berlin.
INTERNATIONALASSOCIATION OFWOOD ANATOMISTS (1989) IAWA list of microscopic features for hardwood identification. IAWA Bull. N. S., v.10, pp.219–332.
KRIBS, D.A. (1959) Commercial foreign woods on the American market. Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania.
KUTZBACH, J.E., GUETTER, P.J., RUDDIMAN, W.F. and PRELL, W.L. (1989) Sensitivity of climate to late Cenozoic uplift in southern Asia and the American West: numerical experiments. Jour. Geophys. Res., v.94, pp.18393–18407.
LACEY, W.S. (1963) Palaeobotany technique. In: J.D. Carthey and I. Duddington (Eds.), Viewpoint in Biology-2, Butterworths, London, pp.202–243.
MERH, S.S. (1995) Geology of Gujarat. Geological Society of India, Bangalore, 220p.
METCALFE, C.R. and CHALK, L. (1950) Anatomy of the dicotyledons, 1 and 2. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
MILES, A. (1978) Photomicrographs of world woods. Department of the Environment Building Research Establishment, London.
MOLNAR, P., ENGLAND, P. and MARTINROD, J. (1993) Mantle dynamics, uplift of the Tibetan plateau, and the Indian monsoon. Rev. Geophys., v.31, pp.357–396.
MOLNAR, P. and STOCK, J.M. (2009) Slowing of India’s convergence with Eurasia since 20 Ma and its implications for Tibetan mantle dynamics. Tectonics, v.28, pp.TC3001.
MOSBRUGGER, V. and UTESCHER, T. (1997) The coexistence approach—a method for quantitative reconstructions of Tertiary terrestrial palaeoclimate data using plant fossils. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoeco., v.134, pp.61–86.
NAGORI, M.L., KHOSLA, S.C. and JAKHAR, S.R. (2013) Middle Eocene Ostracoda from the Tadkeshwar Lignite Mine, Cambay Basin, Gujarat. Jour. Geol. Soc. India, v.81, pp.514–520.
PEARSON, R.S. and BROWN, H.P. (1932) Commercial timbers of India, 1 and 2. Govt. of India Central Publ. Branch, Calcutta.
PRAKASH, U. and AWASTHI, A. (1970) Fossil woods from the Tertiary of eastern India-1. Palaeobotanist, v.18, pp.32–44.
PRASAD, V., GARG, R., KHOWAJA-ATEEQUZZAMA I.B., SINGH, I.B. and JOACHIMSKI, M. (2006) Apectodinium acme and palynofacies characteristics in the latest Palaeocene-earliest Eocene of northern India: biotic response to Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maxima (PETM) in low latitude. Jour. Palaeont. Soc. India, v.51, pp.75–91.
PRASAD, V., FAROOQUI, A., TRIPATHI, S.K.M., GARG, R. and THAKUR, B. (2009) Evidence of Late Palaeocene-Early Eocene equatorial rain forest refugia in southern Western Ghats, India. Jour. Biosci., v.34, pp.777–797.
RAO, M.R., SAHNI, A., RANA, R.S. and VERMA, P. (2013) Palynostratigraphy and depositional environment of Vastan Lignite Mine (Early Eocene), Gujarat, western India. Jour. Earth System Sci., v.122, pp.289–307.
SAHNI, A., SARASWATI, P.K., RANA, R.S., KUMAR, K., SINGH, H., ALIMOHAMMADIAN, H., SAHNI, N., ROSE, K.D., SINGH, L. and SMITH, T. (2006) Temporal constraints and depositional paleoenvironments of the Vastan Lignite sequence Gujarat: analogy for the Cambay Shale hydrocarbon source rock. Indian Jour. Petrol. Geol., v.15, pp.1–20.
SAMANT, B. and PHADTARE, N.R. (1997) Stratigraphic palyno-flora of the Early Eocene Rajpardi lignite, Gujarat and the lower age limit of the Tarkeswar Formation of South Cambay Basin, India. Palaeontogr. B, v.245, pp.1–108.
SHUKLA, A., MEHROTRA, R.C. and GULERIA, J.S. (2013) A fossil wood of Gluta L. (Anacardiaceae) from the Early Eocene sediments of Gujarat, western India. Palaeobotanist, v.62, pp.65–70.
SINGH, A., THAKUR, O.P. and SINGH, B.D. (2012) Petrographic and depositional characteristics of Tadkeshwar lignite deposits (Cambay Basin), Gujarat. Jour. Geol. Soc. India, v.80, pp.329–340.
SINGH, H., PRASAD, M., KUMAR, K., RANA, R.S. and SINGH, S.K. (2010) Fossil fruits from Early Eocene Vastan Lignite, Gujarat, India: taphonomic and phytogeographic implications. Curr. Sci., v.98, pp.1625–1632.
SINGH, H., SAMANT, B., ADATTE, T. and KHOZYEM, H. (2014) Diverse palynoflora from amber and associated sediments of Tarkeshwar lignite mine, Surat district, Gujarat, India. Curr. Sci., v.106, pp.930–932.
SPICER, R.A., HARRIS, N.B.W., WIDDOWSON, M., HERMAN, A.B., GUO, S., VALDES, P.J., WOLFE, J.A. and KELLEY, S.P. (2003) Constant elevation of southern Tibet over the past 15 million years. Nature, v.421, pp.622–624.
WHEELER, E.A., PEARSON, R.G., LA PASHA, C.A., ZACK, T. and HATLEY, W. (1986) Computer-aided wood identification: References manual. North Carolina Agr. Res. Service Bull., v.474, pp.1–96.
ZACHOS, J., PAGANI, M., SLOAN, L., THOMAS, E. and BILLUPS, K. (2001) Trends, rythms, and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present. Science, v.292, pp.686–693.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shukla, A., Mehrotra, R.C. Holigarna (Anacardiaceae) from the early Eocene of Western India and its palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatological significance. J Geol Soc India 87, 520–524 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-016-0425-6
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-016-0425-6