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Miocene Wood Assemblage from the Saurashtra Basin, Gujarat and Its Climatic Significance

  • Original Article
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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

The plant fossil record of Bhavnagar is poorly documented despite its importance in understanding the evolution of Asian monsoonal ecosystems through time. Three genera of the families Fabaceae and Combretaceae are described from the Gaj Formation of Saurashtra Basin, Gujarat. The sediments of this formation are exposed around Lakhanka-Mithi Virdi villages in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat and considered of early to middle Miocene in age. This is the first plant fossil record from the region of this age. The described fossil woods i.e. Hopeoxylon speciosum (Navale) Awasthi, Millettioxylon palaeopulchra Lakhanpal et al., and Terminalia tomentosa Wight and Arn. are found similar to the modern genera Sindora Miq., Millettia Wight & Arn (Fabaceae) and Terminalia L. (Combretaceae), respectively. The present distribution of modern comparable forms of the fossil taxa suggests existence of tropical to subtropical forests and warm and humid climatic conditions in the region during the Miocene in contrast to the sub-humid to dry climate seen today.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Director, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow for the permission to publish this work. The authors are also thankful to the unknown reviewer for his/her constructive suggestions.

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  1. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow, 226 007, India

    Anumeha Shukla, Kajal Chandra, Samiksha Shukla & R. C. Mehrotra

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  1. Anumeha Shukla
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Shukla, A., Chandra, K., Shukla, S. et al. Miocene Wood Assemblage from the Saurashtra Basin, Gujarat and Its Climatic Significance. J Geol Soc India 99, 509–514 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-023-2338-5

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