MIOCENE CALCAREOUS ALGAE FROM INDIA:RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

P. KUNDAL

POST GRADUATE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY,RASHTRASANT TUKADOJI MAHARAJ NAGPUR UNIVERSITY,

LAW COLLEGE SQUARE, NAGPUR–440001 (M.S), INDIAE-mail: pradeepkundal@gmail.com

ABSTRACTThe various sedimentary basins of the India show presence of fossiliferous Miocene sequences. The fossil calcareous algae are

significant constituents of some of the Miocene horizons of the Kachchh, Saurashtra, Bombay and Andaman-Nicobar sedimentary basinsof the India. A synthesis of calcareous algae recorded by different workers reveals that the early Miocene Khari Nadi Formation andearly middle Miocene Chhasra Formation of the onshore sequence of the Kachchh Basin contain 10 and 28 calcareous algal speciesrespectively, while the early Miocene Godhra Formation of the offshore sequence of Kachchh Basin contains 8 calcareous algal species;the early to middle Miocene Dwarka Formation of the Saurashtra Basin contains 27 calcareous algal species; the two formations, lateOligocene to basal Miocene Alibag and early Miocene Bombay of Bombay Offshore Basin respectively contain 6 and 7 calcareous algalspecies and the early Miocene and middle to late Miocene sequence of Little Andaman Island and early Miocene of Wilson Island, RitchisArchipelago, Andaman-Nicobar Basin respectively contain 2, 3 and 6 calcareous algal species. The present paper provides a synthesis ofthe 97 calcareous algal species documented from the Miocene formations of Kachchh, Saurasthra, Bombay and Andaman-Nicobar sedimentarybasins of the India and their implications in reconstruction of paleoenvironments. The present paper highlights significance of cyanophyceanand dasycladalean algal species from the Miocene horizons from India vis-à-vis overall records from the world and furnishes scope forfurther work on calcareous algae from the Miocene horizons of Kachchh, Saurashtra, Bombay and Andaman-Nicobar sedimentary basinsof the India.

Keywords: Calcareous Algae, Miocene, Paleoenvironment, Kachchh, Saurashtra, Bombay and Andaman-Nicobar Sedimentarybasins, India.

INTRODUCTIONAlgae are nonvascular chlorophyll-bearing

photosynthetic aquatic plants, marine or freshwater orplants of damp situations having simple plant body i.e.thallus, unicellular or multicellular showing nodifferentiation into true roots, stems and leaves andranging from minute plankton, a few microns in size tohuge marine benthic plants, tens of meters in length.There are 07 artificial major groups of algae i.e. skeletalcalcareous algae, nonskeletal calcareous algae(stromatolites), rhodoliths, phylloid Algae,coccolithophores, diatoms and dinoflagellates. Theskeletal calcareous algae are defined as the algae whichdeposit CaCO3 as a result of metabolic, biochemical,mechanical and in situ precipitation and this CaCO3gives a skeleton for the entire plant or part of plant.The skeletal calcareous algae are diverse and ubiquitousin shallow marine and freshwater environments

throughout the Phanerozoic. In the present paper theskeletal calcareous algae are referred to as calcareousalgae. The calcareous algae are used as a potential toolfor determining paleoenvironments andpaleobathymetry. They have multifarious applicationsin hydrocarbon exploration such as a potential tool forreconstruction of paleoenvironment, as builder ofcarbonate reservoir rocks and reefs (Kundal, 2010, 2011;Kundal and Kundal, 2011). Table 1 providesclassification of Fossil Calcareous Algae.

The various sedimentary basins of the Indiashow presence of fossiliferous Miocene sequences. Thefossil calcareous algae are significant constituents ofsome of the Miocene horizons of the Kachchh,Saurashtra, Bombay and Andaman-Nicobar sedimentarybasins of the India. The aim of the present papers is toprovide a synthesis of 97 calcareous algal speciesrecorded by different workers from aforementioned four

SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE PALAEONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA

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136 P. KUNDAL

sedimentary basins and their implications inreconstruction of paleoenvironments. Further, thepresent paper highlights significance of cyanophyceanand dasycladalean algal species from the Miocenehorizons from India vis-à-vis overall records from theworld and furnishes scope for further work on calcareousalgae from the Miocene horizons of India.

MIOCENE HORIZONS IN THE KACHCHH,SAURASHTRA, BOMBAY AND ANDAMAN-NICOBAR SEDIMENTARY BASINS

The Kachchh, Saurashtra, Bombay andAndaman-Nicobar sedimentary basins of the India(Fig.1) have presence of numerous horizons of theMiocene ages. The Miocene onshore sequence of theKachchh Basin shows occurrence of two formations,the Khari Nadi Formation (early Miocene) and theChassra Formation (early middle Miocene). While theMiocene offshore sequence of this basin showspresence of five formations, namely, Narayan Sarovar(early Miocene), Godhra (early Miocene), Mitti Nadi(early Miocene), Chhasra (early middle Miocene) andKandla (middle Miocene to Recent) (Mishra, 2009).

The Miocene onshore sequence of theSaurashtra Basin is divided into two formations, Gaj(early Miocene), Dwarka (early to middle Miocene)(Pandey et al., 2007). The Miocene offshore sequenceof Saurashtra Basin is divisible into four formations,Gaj (early Miocene), Navibandar (early Miocene),Dwarka (middle Miocene to early Pliocene) andMangrol Formation (middle Miocene to Recent)(Mishra, 2009).

The Bombay Offshore Basin has nine Mioceneformations, namely, Daman (late Oligocene-basalMiocene), Alibag (late Oligocene to basal Miocene),Panvel (late Eocene to basal Miocene), Mahim (earlyMiocene), Bombay (early Miocene), Ratnagiri (earlymiddle Miocene), Tapti (middle Miocene), Bandra(middle Miocene), Chinchini (late Miocene to Recent)(Zutshi et al., 1993).

The Andaman-Nicobar Basin has four Mioceneformations belonging to the Archipelago Group, namely,Strait Formation/Round Formation (early to middleMiocene), Inglis Formation (early Miocene), LongFormation (middle to late Miocene) and Sawai BayFormation (late Miocene to early Pliocene) (Srinivasanand Azmi, 1976; Roy, 1983).

Table 1: Classification of Fossil Calcareous Algae (Kundal, 2010).

Division: Cyanophyta (Blue-green algae) Class: Cyanophyceae

Order: Nostacales Family: Rivulariaceae#Division: Rhodophyta (Red algae)

Class: Florideophyceae Order: Corallinales

Family: Solenoporaceae Family: Gymnocodiaceae

Family: Pessonneliaceae Family: Corallinaceae

Subfamily: Corallinoideae Subfamily: Metagoniolithoideae Subfamily: Mastophoroideae

Subfamily: Lithophylloideae Family: Hapalidiaceae Subfamily: Melobesioideae Family: Sporolithaceae

Division: Chlorophyta (Green algae) Class: Chlorophyceae

Order: Dasycladales Family: Dasycladaceae

Class: Bryopsidophyceae Order: Bryopsidales Family: Halimedaceae Family: Udoteaceae Class: Charophyceae Order: Charales

Family: Characeae and other families*

All marine except # nonmarine, brackish and marine and *mostlynonmarine

Fig.1. Sedimentary basins map of India, box represents the Basinsdiscussed in the paper (www.dghindia.org).

MIOCENE CALCAREOUS ALGAE FROM INDIA: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT 137

CALCAREOUS ALGAE IN MIOCENEHORIZONS OF INDIA

The Kachchh, Saurashtra, Bombay andAndaman-Nicobar sedimentary basins of India arecharacterized by sequences of Miocene age. However,only a few horizons of theses sedimentary basins of theIndia have yielded 97 calcareous algal species (Table2).

Kachchh Basin: Onshore SequencePal and Ghosh (1974), Kundal and Humane

(2002, 2006a) and Humane and Kundal (2010) haverecorded 10 species (7 nongeniculate coralline, 3geniculate coralline) from the early Miocene Khari NadiFormation. These species are: Nongeniculate Corallinealgae: Aethesolithon cutchensis Pal and Ghosh, A.problematicum Johnson, Archaeporolithon miocenicumPal and Ghosh, Lithophyllum aff. L. kladosum Johnson,Lithothamnion florea-brassica (Millet) Lemoine,Mesophyllum commune Lemoine and Sporolithoneniwetokensis Johnson; Geniculate Coralline algae:Amphiroa anchiverricosa Johnson and Ferris,Calliarthron antiquum Johnson and Jania badveiKundal and Humane.

Kundal and Humane (2002, 2003, 2006b,2007); Humane and Kundal (2005, 2010) and Humane

et al. (2006) have documented 28 calcareous algalspecies (3 cyanophycean; 4 nongeniculate coralline, 12geniculate coralline; 6 dasycladalean, 1 halimedaceanand 2 udoteacean) from the early middle MioceneChhasra Formation. These species are: R. dianae(Dragastan and Bucur), Rivularia l issaviensis(Bornemann) Dragastan and Rivularia sp.(Cyanophycean); Lithophyllum sp., Lithoporellamelobesioides (Foslie) Foslie, Lithothamnioncardinellense Fravega, Piazza and Vannucci andSporolithon affine Howe (Pl. I, fig.2) (NongeniculateCoralline); Amphiroa anchiverricosa Johnson andFerris, Arthrocardia cretacica Raineri, Calliarthronantiquum Johnson, Corallina elliptica Ishijima, C.hayasaki Ishijima, C. kachchhensis Kundal andHumane, C. marshallensis Johnson, C. matansaJohnson, C. prisca Johnson, C. raoi Chatterji andGururaja, C. typica Ishijima and Metagoniolithon sp.(Pl. II, fig.1) (Geniculate Coralline); Acroporella sp.,Broeckella sp., Clypeina sp., Neomeris plagnensisDeloffre (Pl. II, fig.4), N. ramwadaensis Kundal andHumane and Orioporella sp. (Pl. II, fig.5) (Dasyclads);Halimeda cylindracea Decaisne (Halimedacean) andOvulites margaritula Lamarck and O. pyriformisSchwager (Udoteacean).

Table 2: Miocene Calcareous algae from India.

Formation Authors Algal Assemblage

Kachchh Basin: Onshore Sequence

Chhasra Formation Kundal and Humane Cyanophycean algae: Rivularia dianae (Dragastan and Bucur) R.(early middle Miocene) (2002, 2003,2006b, 2007b); lissaviensis (Bornemann) Dragastan and Rivularia sp.Nongeniculate

Humane and Kundal Coralline algae: Lithophyllum sp., Lithoporella melobesioides (Foslie)(2005, 2010); Humane, Kundal Foslie, Lithothamnion cardinellense Fravega, Piazza and Vannucciand Naitam (2006) and Sporolithon affine HoweGeniculate Coralline algae: Amphiroa

anchiverricosa Johnson and Ferris, Arthrocardia cretacica Raineriand Calliarthron antiquum Johnson, Corallina elliptica Ishijima, C.hayasaki Ishijima, C. kachchhensis Kundal and Humane, C.marshallensis Johnson, C. matansa Johnson, C. prisca Johnson, C.raoi Chatterji and Gururaja, C. typica Ishijima and Metagoniolithonsp.Dasyclads: Acroporella sp., Broeckella sp., Clypeina sp., Neomerisplagnensis Deloffre, N. ramwadaensis Kundal and Humane andOrioporella sp. Halimedacean alga: Halimeda cylindracea DecaisneUdoteacean algae: Ovulites margaritula Lamarck and O. pyriformisSchwager

Khari Nadi Formation Pal and Ghosh (1974); Nongeniculate Coralline algae: Aethesolithon cutchensis Pal and(early Miocene) Kundal and Humane Ghosh, A. problematicum Johnson, Archaeporolithon miocenicum

(2002, 2006a); Humane and Pal and Ghosh, Lithophyllum aff. L. kladosum Johnson, LithothamnionKundal(2010) florea-brassica (Millet) Lemoine, Mesophyllum commune Lemoine

and Sporolithon eniwetokensis JohnsonGeniculate Coralline algae:

138 P. KUNDAL

Amphiroa anchiverricosa Johnson and Ferris, Calliarthron antiquumJohnson and Jania badvei Kundal and Humane

Kachchh Basin: Offshore Sequence

Godhra Formation Kundal and Humane(2012) Geniculate Coralline algae:Arthrocardia cretacica Raineri,(early Miocene) Calliarthron antiquum Johnson, Corallina grandis Rao, C. hayasaki

Ishijima, C. raoi Chatterji and Gururaja, Jania guamensis Johnson,J. sripadaraoi Kundal and Humane and Subterraniphyllum thomasiiElliott

Saurashtra Basin

Dwarka Formation Kundal and Mude,2009a, Nongeniculate Coralline algae: Lithophyllum dentatum (Kutzing)(earlyto middle Miocene) 2009b, 2010M Foslie, Lithoporella melobesioides Foslie, Melobesioideae gen. et spec.

ude and Kundal, 2011, 2012 indet. 1, 2, Melobesioideae gen. et spec. indet., Mesophyllum curtumLemoine, Neogoniolithon sp. and Sporolithon statiellenseAiroldi.Geniculate Coralline algae: Amphiroa anchiverricosaJohnson and Ferris, A. ephedraea Ishijima, A. fragilissima Lamouroux,A. rigida Lamouroux, A. prefragilissima Lemoine, A. prerigidaIshijima, Amphiroa sp.1, Arthrocardia cretacica Raineri, A.konitaensis Ishijima, Calliarthron antiquum Johnson, Corallinagrandis Rao, C. hayasaki Ishijima, C. marshallensis Johnson, C.prisca Johnson, C. typica Ishijima, Corallina sp.1, Jania guamensisJohnson, Jania sp.1 and Subterraniphyllum thomasii Elliott

Bombay Offshore Basin

BombayFormation Kundal, Bhagat and Nongeniculate Coralline algae: Lithoporella sp., Mesophyllum sp.,(early Miocene Humane (2007) Neogoniolithon sp., and Sporolithon sp.,Geniculate Coralline algae:

Corallina sp., Jania sp. and Subterraniphyluum sp.

Alibag Formation Kundal, Bhagat and Nongeniculate Coralline algae: Lithophyllum sp., Lithoporella sp.,(late Oligocene to basal Miocene) Humane (2005) Mesophyllum sp. and Spongites sp. Geniculate Coralline algae:

Arthrocardia sp. and Corallina sp.

Andaman and Nicobar Basin

Middle to late Miocene Gururaja (1977) , Solenoporacean alga: Neosolenopora ramaraoi Gururajaof Little Andaman Island Venkatachalapathy and Nongeniculate Coralline algae: Aethesolithon sp. 1 and Aethesolithon

Gururaja (1984) sp. 2

Early Miocene of Wilson Island, Chatterji and Gururaja (1972) Nongeniculate Coralline algae: Lithothamnion wilsonensis ChatterjiRitchis Archipelago and Gururaja, Lithophyllum cf. fosliei (Hydrich) Hydrich, Lithophyllum

aff. prelichenoides Lemoine, Lithophyllum sp.,Geniculate Corallinealgae: Corallina raoi Chatterji and Gururaja and Jania sp. (?)

Early Miocene of Little Chatterji and Gururaja (1972) Geniculate Coralline algae: Amphiroa cf. prefragilissima LemoineAndaman Island and Amphiroa sp.

Kachchh Basin: Offshore SequenceKundal and Humane (2012) recorded 8

geniculate coralline species, viz. Arthrocardia cretacicaRaineri, Calliarthron antiquum Johnson, Corallinagrandis Rao, C. hayasaki Ishijima, C. raoi Chatterjiand Gururaja, Jania guamensis Johnson, J. sripadaraoiKundal and Humane and Subterraniphyllum thomasiiElliott (Pl. II, fig.2) from the early Miocene GodhraFormation.

Saurashtra BasinKundal and Mude (2009a, 2009b, 2010) and

Mude and Kundal (2011, 2012) recorded 27 calcareousalgal species (8 nongeniculate coralline, 19 geniculatecoralline) from the early to middle Miocene DwarkaFormation. The nongeniculate coralline species are:Lithophyllum dentatum (Kutzing) Foslie, Lithoporellamelobesioides Foslie, Melobesioideae gen. et spec.indet. 1, 2, Melobesioideae gen. et spec. indet.,Mesophyllum curtum Lemoine (Pl.I, fig.1),

MIOCENE CALCAREOUS ALGAE FROM INDIA: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT 139

Neogoniolithon sp. and Sporolithon statiellense Airoldi.The geniculate Coralline species include Amphiroaanchiverricosa Johnson and Ferris, A. ephedraeaIshijima , A. fragilissima Lamouroux, A. rigidaLamouroux, A. prefragilissima Lemoine (Pl. II, fig.3),A. prerigida Ishijima, Amphiroa sp.1, Arthrocardiacretacica Raineri, A. konitaensis Ishijima, Calliarthronantiquum Johnson, Corallina grandis Rao, C. hayasakiIshijima, C. marshallensis Johnson, C. prisca Johnson,C. typica Ishijima, Corallina sp.1, Jania guamensisJohnson, Jania sp.1 and Subterraniphyllum thomasiiElliott.

Bombay Offshore BasinKundal et al. (2005) documented 6 calcareous

algal species (4 nongeniculate coralline, 2 geniculatecoralline) from the late Oligocene to basal MioceneAlibag Formation. These species are: Lithophyllum sp.,Lithoporella sp., Mesophyllum sp. and Spongites sp.(nongeniculate coralline) and Corallina sp. andArthrocardia sp. (geniculate coralline).

Kundal et al. (2007) recorded 7 calcareous algalspecies (4 nongeniculate coralline, 3 geniculatecoralline) from the early Miocene Bombay Formation.The nongeniculate coralline species are algae:Lithoporella sp., Mesophyllum sp., Neogoniolithon sp.and Sporolithon sp. (pl.I, fig.3); and the geniculatecoralline species are Corallina sp., Jania sp., andSubterraniphyluum sp.

Andaman- Nicobar BasinWithout indentifying the formation, Chatterji

and Gururaja (1972) recorded 2 Geniculate corallinealgal species, Amphiroa cf. prefragilissima Lemoine andAmphiroa sp. from the early Miocene and Gururaja(1977) and Venkatachalapathy and Gururaja (1984)recorded a solenoporacean alga , Neosolenoporaramaraoi Gururaja and 2 nongeniculate Coralline algalspecies, namely Aethesolithon sp. 1 and Aethesolithonsp. 2 from middle to late Miocene of Little AndamanIsland. Similarly without indentifying the formation,Chatterji and Gururaja (1972) recorded 4 nongeniculatecoralline species, viz. Lithothamnion wilsonensisChatterji and Gururaja, Lithophyllum cf. fosliei(Hydrich) Hydrich, Lithophyllum aff. prelichenoidesLemoine, Lithophyllum sp. and 2 geniculate Corallinealgae, Corallina raoi Chatterji and Gururaja and Janiasp. (?) from the early Miocene of Wilson Island, RitchisArchipelago, Andaman-Nicobar Basin.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I

1. Mesophyllum curtum Lemoine, a nongeniculate coralline algalspecies from early middle to Miocene Dwarka Formation,Porbandar, Saurashtra Basin (from Kundal and Mude, 2009a), 2.Sporolithon affine Howe, a nongeniculate coralline algal speciesfrom early middle Miocene Chassra Formation, Onshore Sequenceof Kachchh Basin (from Humane and Kundal, 2010), 3. Sporolithonsp., a nongeniculate coralline algal species from early MioceneBombay Formation, Bombay Offshore Basin (from Kundal et al. ,2007).

PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTIONUSING CALCAROUS ALGAEGeneral Facts about Calcareous Algae

The corallines are exclusively marine anddistributed from tropical to Polar Regions (Adey andMacintyre, 1973). The Lithophyllum is common in warmtemperate environment and Lithoporella strictly occursin the tropical regions and all geniculate forms occur intropical and subtropical waters (Wray, 1977). Amphiroagenerally thrives in waters less than 30 m depth (Cloud,

140 P. KUNDAL

1952) but is common at depths between 20 and 25 m(Johnson, 1957). Adey (1979) gave the followinggeneric associations of nongeniculate coralline algaefor palaeobathymetry.

Depth Coralline algal assemblage

Intertidal – 20m Neogoniolithon, Porolithon,Lithophyllum and Hydrolithon

20 – 40m Neogoniolithon, Lithophyllum,Hydrolithon, Titanoderma andMesophyllum

40 – 60m Mesophyllum, dominant withSporolithon, Lithothamnion andLithophyllum

60 – 100m Mesophyllum and Lithothamnion with(Possibly 200m) Sporolithon and Lithophyllum

Bosence (1991) suggested that water turbulencecontrols the morphology of coralline algae. The formsgrowing in high-energy conditions have robust fusedframework with thick crusts, branches and columns,while those growing in moderate energy conditions havedelicate framework with thin branches and crusts. Thedasycladalean algae generally occur at a depth of 5-6 mbelow low tide level and can extend down to 12 m(Johnson, 1961; Wray, 1977). Dasycladalean algae areconfined to shallow environments, usually less than 5mdepth and maximum abundances occur in quiet areassheltered from wave action (Genot, 1991). Dragastanet al. (2005) surmised that dasycladalean algae arerestricted to open lagoon environment having low-energy conditions. The halimedacean algae are generallyabundant from below low tide level to a depth of 10-12m (Hillis-Collinvaux, 1980; Kundal, 2010).

Kachchh Basin: Onshore SequenceThe early Miocene Khari Nadi Formation

shows presence of 10 coralline species (Pal and Ghosh,1974; Kundal and Humane, 2002, 2006a; Humane andKundal, 2010) (Table 2). Kundal and Kundal (2010)deduced that limestone of early Miocene Khari NadiFormation was deposited at a depth of 40 to 60 m in amoderate energy conditions based on association ofLithophyllum, Lithothamnion, Mesophyllum,Sporolithon and Amphiroa. The early middle MioceneChhasra Formation is characterized by presence of 28calcareous algal species (Kundal and Humane, 2002,

2003, 2006b, 2007; Humane and Kundal, 2005, 2010;Humane et al., 2006) (Table 2). Based on these species,Kundal and Kundal (2010) concluded that limestone ofearly Miocene Chhasra Formation was deposited at adepth of 10 to 12 m in a moderate energy conditions.

Kachchh Basin: Offshore SequenceThe core samples of limestone of the early

Miocene Godhra Formation has yielded 8 geniculatecoralline algal species (Kundal and Humane, 2012)(Table 2). Kundal and Humane (2012) on the basis ofthese species suggested that the limestone of the earlyMiocene Godhra Formation was deposited at a depthof 10 to 25 m in a moderate energy conditions.

Saurashtra BasinThe early to middle Miocene Dwarka

Formation has yielded 8 nongeniculate and 19geniculate coralline species (Kundal and Mude, 2009a,2009b, 2010; Mude and Kundal, 2011, 2012) (Table2). Kundal et al. (2013) have concluded that the earlyto middle Miocene Dwarka Formation was depositedat a depth of 0 to 20 m in high-energy conditions basedon association of Lithophyllum, Neogoniolithon,Mesophyllum and dominant presence of Amphiroa andtheir robust framework and thick braches.

Bombay Offshore BasinThe core samples of the late Oligocene to basal

Miocene Alibag Formation are characterized by 6coralline algal species (Kundal et al., 2005) (Table 2).Kundal et al. (2005) interpreted that basal Miocenehorizon of the Alibag Formation was deposited at adepth of 20 m in moderate energy conditions. The coresamples of early Miocene Bombay Formation haveyielded 7 coralline algal species (Kundal et al., 2007)(Table 2). Kundal et al. (2007) interpreted that the earlyMiocene Bombay Formation were deposited at a depthof 10 - 20 m in moderate energy conditions.

Andaman- Nicobar BasinThe early Miocene and middle to late Miocene

sequence of Little Andaman Island and early Mioceneof Wilson Island, Ritchis Archipelago, Andaman-Nicobar Basin respectively contain 2, 3 and 6 corallinealgal species (Chatterji and Gururaja, 1972; Gururaja,1977; Venkatachalapathy and Gururaja, 1984) (Table2). However, these authors (Chatterji and Gururaja,1972; Gururaja, 1977; Venkatachalapathy and Gururaja,

MIOCENE CALCAREOUS ALGAE FROM INDIA: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT 141

1984) did not infer paleoenvironments of these horizons.The present author feels that more calcareous algalspecies needs to be recorded from the Miocene sequenceof these areas to draw any conclusions forpaleoenvironments.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE II

1. Metagoniolithon sp., a geniculate coralline algal species fromearly middle Miocene Chassra Formation, Onshore Sequence ofKachchh Basin (from Kundal and Humane, 2006b), 2.Subterraniphyllum thomasii Elliott, a geniculate coralline algalspecies from early Miocene Godhra Formation, Offshore Sequenceof Kachchh Basin (from Kundal and Humane, 2012), 3. Amphiroaprefragilissima Lemoine, a geniculate coralline algal species fromfrom early to middle Miocene, Dwarka Formation, Porbandar,Saurashtra Basin (from Kundal and Mude, 2010), 4. Neomerisplagnensis Deloffre, a dasycladalean algal species from earlymiddle Miocene Chassra Formation, Onshore Sequence of KachchhBasin (from Kundal and Humane, 2007), 5. Orioporella sp., adasycladalean algal species from early middle Miocene ChassraFormation, Onshore Sequence of Kachchh Basin (from Kundal andHumane, 2007).

SIGNIFICANCE OF MIOCENE ALGAE FROMINDIA

The 3 cyanophycean species, namely R. dianae(Dragastan and Bucur), Rivularia l issaviensis(Bornemann) Dragastan and Rivularia sp. recorded fromthe early middle Miocene Chhasra Formation ofOnshore Sequence of Kachchh Basin by Humane et al.(2006) and 1 cyanophycean species, Neosolenoporaramaraoi Gururaja recorded from the middle to lateMiocene of Little Andaman Island by Gururaja (1977)are significant as records of species of Rivularia fromthe Cenozoic sediments are very rare (Dragastan, 1985;Riding, 1993). The record of six dasycladalean algalspecies, viz. Acroporella sp., Broeckella sp., Clypeinasp., Neomeris plagnensis Deloffre, N. ramwadaensisKundal and Humane and Orioporella sp. from earlyMiocene Chhasra Formation of onshore sequence ofKachchh Basin by Kundal and Humane (2007) issignificant as about 10 dasycladalean species are knownfrom other parts of the world (Bucur, 1999; Aguirre andRiding, 2005).

SCOPE FOR FURTHER WORKAs indicated above only a few horizons of

Miocene age of the Kachchh, Saurasthtra, Bombay andAndaman-Nicobar sedimentary basins of the India haveyielded in all 97 calcareous algal species. Whenthoroughly searched and reinvestigated these horizonstogether with a few newly discovered from thesesedimentary basins may yield more data which may bebetter used in stratigrahic and palaeoenvironmentalstudies. Similarly, there is a need to record calcareousalgae from the Miocene horizons of the remaining Indiansedimentary basins.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI am thankful to Prof. R. P. Tiwari, Mizoram

University, Aizawl for inviting me to write a status paperon “Miocene Calcareous Algae from India” for thisvolume. I am grateful to Prof. A. K. Jauhri and Dr. S.Kishore of Lucknow University, Lucknow for reviewingthe manuscript.

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