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Ptychoplasma and associated ichnotaxa of bivalve burrowing activity in Kuldhar Member of Jaisalmer Formation, Jaisalmer Basin, western India

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Abstract

This study records the four ichnotaxa of burrowing activity of bivalves ascribed to Ptychoplasma excelsum, Ptychoplasma vagans, Lockeia siliquaria, and Lockeia cunctator from the Kuldhar Member of the Jaisalmer Formation of the Jaisalmer Basin, western India. These trace fossils have been recovered from the exposed road-cut section on the Jaisalmer–Sam Road near Kuldhara village. Here, Ptychoplasma excelsum is the first report from the Jaisalmer Basin. The Ptychoplasma excelsum are discovered as epichnial convex discontinuous ridges that connect through welding of the host rock strata, whereas the Ptychoplasma vagans are almond-shaped bodies that appear erratically, are oriented serially, and form looping or meandering patterns. The Lockeia siliquaria are almond-shaped traces with a tapering end and are found in isolated forms, while Lockeia cunctator are almond-shaped traces that are found in serially connecting forms or club-shaped structures. These trace fossils represent the repichnia and cubichnia behaviours of the burrowing bivalves. This study implies the shallow-water depositional settings for the Kuldhar Member of the Jaisalmer Formation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are highly thankful to anonymous reviewers for their critical review and constructive suggestions that helped modify the manuscript. We are extremely grateful to Prof. S R Jakhar, Head, Department of Geology, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur of western Rajasthan for providing laboratory facilities to carry out the present investigation. We are also acknowledging to Mr. Anshul Harsh and Mr. Pawan Kumar for technical as well as in field assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, 342 005, Rajasthan, India

    Abhimanyu Singh, Vishnu K Meghwal & Virendra S Parihar

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  1. Abhimanyu Singh
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  2. Vishnu K Meghwal
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  3. Virendra S Parihar
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Contributions

Virendra S Parihar: Supervision, writing and finalizing the original draft. Abhimanyu Singh: Fieldwork (sampling, photography and data collections). Vishnu K Meghwal: Field and technical works.

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Correspondence to Virendra S Parihar.

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Communicated by Rajeev Patnaik

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Singh, A., Meghwal, V.K. & Parihar, V.S. Ptychoplasma and associated ichnotaxa of bivalve burrowing activity in Kuldhar Member of Jaisalmer Formation, Jaisalmer Basin, western India. J Earth Syst Sci 132, 180 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02189-9

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