Microflora from Sauropod Coprolites and Associated Sediments of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation of Nand-Dongargaon Basin, Maharashtra
Authors
-
Post Graduate Department of Geology, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur - 440 001
Hemant Sonkusare -
Post Graduate Department of Geology, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur - 440 001
Bandana Samant
-
Ex-Geological Survey of India, C3, 24 HIG, Agrasen Road Giripeth, Nagpur - 440 010
D. M. Mohabey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-017-0620-0Abstract
Micofloral study of Lameta sediments and associated sauropod coprolites in the Nand-Dongargaon basin in Maharashtra was conducted to understand the diet and habitat of sauropods. The study revealed the presence of pollen, spores, algal and fungal remains, well-preserved cuticles of Poaceae, and testate amoebae. Vegetation during Lameta included tall arboreal taxa, such as conifers (Podocarpus and Araucaria), Cycads (Cycas), Euphorian and Barringtonia and herbs and shrubs, such as Cheirolepidiaceae (Classopollis), Arecaceae (Palmaepollenites), Poaceae (Graminidites), Asteraceae (Compositoipollenites), Caryophyllaceae (Cretacaeiporites and Periporopollenites), and Acanthaceae (Multiareolites). Data suggest that the sauropods ate soft tissues of angiosperms and gymnosperms. The intake of testate amoeba, algal remains, sponge spicules, and diatoms might be through water intake.
Downloads
Metrics
Issue
Section
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
References
Ambwani, K., Sahni, A., Kar, R. K. and Dutta, D. (2003) Oldest known nonmarine diatoms (Aulacoseira) from the Uppermost Cretaceous Deccan Intertrappean beds and Lameta formation of India. Review de Micropaleontology, v.46, pp.67-71.
Atik, C. and Ates, S. (2012) Mass balance of silica in straw from the perspective of silica reduction in straw pulp. Bio Resources, v.7(3), pp.3274-3282.
Birader and Bonde (1979) On a fossil palm peduncle from Dongargaon, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India; Geophytology, v.9, pp.132-138.
Bonde and Birader (1981) On two palm woods from the Deccan intertrappean beds of Dongargaon, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra (India). Jour. Univ. Poona Sci., v.54, pp.247-257.
Booth, R.K., Lamentowicz, M. and Charman, D. J. (2010) Preparation and analysis of testate amoebae in peatland palaeoenvironmental studies. Mires and Peat, v.7 (2010/11), 02, pp.1-7.
Charman, D.J., Gehrels, W.R. and Roe, H. (2000) The use of <63μm sediment fractions in the separation and identification of testate amoebae in the intertidal zone. Proc. 5th Internat. Workshop on Agglutinated Foraminifera, Hart, M., Kaminski, M.A. & Smart, C. (Eds.), Grzybowski Foundation Special Publication no., v.7, pp.89-99.
Charman, D.J., Roe, H.M. and Gehrels, W.R. (1998) The use of testate amoebae in studies of sea-level change: a case study from the Taf estuary, South Wales, UK. The Holocene, v.8, pp.209-218.
Cookson, I.C., (1947a) Fossil fungi from Tertiary deposits in the Southern Hemisphere. Part I. Proc. Linnean Soc. New South Wales, v.72, pp. 207– 214.
Dutta, D. and Ambwani, K. (2007) Capers: A food for Upper Cretaceous dinosaurs of Pisdura, India. Curr. Sci., v.92 (7), pp. 897-899.
Farooqui, A., Aggrawal, N., and Jha, N. (2014) Thecamoebians from Late Permian Gondwana sediments of peninsular India. Eur. Jour. Protistol., v.50(1), pp.89-105.
Farooqui, A., Aggrawal, N., Jha, N. and Phartiyal, B. (2015) Oldest Record of Freshwater Diatom Frustules in Tests of Permian thecamoebians: Faithfulness of Sedimentary Record. Int. Jour. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci, v.4(7), pp.472-485.
Ghosh, P., Bhattachrya, S.K., Sahni, A., Kar, R.K., Mohabey, D.M. and Ambwani, K. (2003) Dinosaur coprolites from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation of India; isotopic and other marker suggesting a C3 plant diet. Cretaceous Res., v.24, pp.743-750.
Helen, M.R. and Patterson, R. T. (2006) Distribution of the Thecamoebians (Testate Amoebae) in small lakes and ponds, Barbados, West Indies. Jour. of Foraminiferal Res., v.36(2), pp.116–134.
Jain, S.L. (1989) Recent Dinosaur discoveries in India, including eggshells, nests, coprolites. In D. D. Gellette and M. G. Lockley, eds., Dinosaur tracks and traces. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp.99-108.
Jain, S.L. and Sahni, A. (1986) Some Cretaceous vertebrates from central India: Their palaeogeographical implications: Lucknow, Indian Association of Palynostratigraphers, Symp., BSIP, Lucknow, pp.66–83.
Kar, R.K., Mohabey, D.M. and Srivastava, S. (2004a) Angiospermous fossils woods from the Lameta Formation (Maastrichtian), Maharashtra, India. Geophytol., v.33 (1&2), pp.21-27.
Kar, R.K., Sharma, N. and Kar, R. (2004b) Occurrence of fossil fungi in dinosaur dung mass and its implication on food habit. Curr. Sci., v.87 (8).
Khosla, A., Chin, K., Alimohammadin, H. and Dutt, D. (2015) Ostracods, plant tissues, and other inclusions in coprolites from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation at Pisdura, India: Taphonomical and palaeoecological implications. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoeco., v.418, pp.90–100.
Lodge, D.J. (1989) The influence of soil moisture and flooding on formation of VA -endo and ectomycorrhizae in Populus and Salix. Plant and Soil. v.117, pp.243-253.
Mankar, R.S. and Srivastava, A.K. (2015) Salbardi–Belkher inland basin: a new site of Lameta sedimentation at the border of districts Amravati, Maharashtra and Betul, Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Curr. Sci., v.109(7), pp.1337-1343.
Matley, C.A. (1939) The Coprolites of Pisdura, central province. Rec. Geol. Surv. India, v.74, pp.535-547.
Medioli, F.S., Scott, D.B., Collins, E.S. and Wall, J.H. (1990) Thecamoebians from the Early Cretaceous deposits of Ruby Creek, Alberta (Canada). In: Hemleben, C., Kaminski, M. A., Kuhnt, W. & Scott, D. B. (eds.) Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Paleoecology, biostratigraphy, paleoceanography and taxonomy of agglutinated foraminifera. NATO ASI Series. Series D: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 327. Dordrecht: Reidel Publishing Company, pp.793–812.
Medioli, F.S. and Scott, D.B. (1988) Lacustrine thecamoebians (mainly Arcellaceans) as potential tools for palaeolimnological interpretations. Paleogeo., Paleoeclimat., Paleoeco., v.62, pp.361-386.
Medioli, F.S. and Scott, D.B. (1983) Holocene Arcellacea (thecamoebians) from eastern Canada: Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal research, Spec. Publ., v.21, pp.1-63.
Mohabey, D.M. (1990, a) Discovery of dinosaur nesting site in Maharashtra. Gondwana Geol. Mag., v.3, pp. 32-34.
Mohabey, D.M. (1990, b) Dinosaur eggs from Lameta Formation of Western and Central India; their occurrence and nesting behaviour. Symp. Workshop IGCP 216 and 245, Chandigarh, pp.18-21.
Mohabey, D.M. (1996) Depositional environment of Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous) of Nand-Dongargaon Basin, Maharashtra: The fossil and lithofacies evidences. Mem. Geol. Soc. India, no.37, pp.363-386.
Mohabey, D.M. (2001, a) Dinosaur Eggs and Dung (Faecal mass) from Late Cretaceous of Central India: Dietary Implications. Geol. Surv. India Spec. Publ. No.64, pp.605-615.
Mohabey, D.M. (2001, b) Indian Dinosaur Eggs: a review. Jour. Geol. Soc., India, v.58, pp.479-508.
Mohabey, D.M. (2005) Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) nests, eggs, and dung mass (coprolites) of sauropods (titanosaurs) from India, in Tidwell, V., and Carpenter, K., eds., Thunder Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs: Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana Univ. Press, pp.466-489.
Mohabey, D.M. and Samant, B. (2003) Floral Remains from Late Cretaceous Faecal Mass of Sauropods from Central India: Implication to their Diet and Habitat. Gondwana Geol. Magz., Spec. v.6, pp.225-238.
Mohabey, D.M. and Udhoji, S.G. (1990) Fossils occurrences and sedimentation of Lameta formation of Nand area, Maharashtra: Palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and taphonomical implications. In: Symp. Workshop IGCP- 216 and 245, Chandigarh, pp. 30-32.
Mohabey, D.M. and Udhoji S.G. (1996) Fauna and flora from Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) non marine Lameta Sediments associated with Deccan volcanic episodes, Maharashtra: its relevance to the K/T boundary problem, Palaeoenvironment and palaeogeography. Gondwana Geol. Mag., Spec. v.2, pp.349-364.
Mohabey, D.M. and Samant, B. (2005) Lacustrine facies association of a Maastrichtian lake (Lameta Formation) from Deccan volcanic terrain central India: implications to depositional history, sediment cyclicity and climates. Gondwana Geol. Mag., v.8, pp.37-52.
Mohabey, D.M., Udhoji, S.G. and Verma, K.K. (1993) Palaeontological and Sedimentological observations on non-marine Lameta Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Maharashtra, India: their palaeoecologiclal and palaeoenvironmental significance. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclim. Palaeoecol., v.105, pp.83-94.
Mukherjee, D. (2014) Evidence of Araucaria (Monkey-Puzzle) from Lameta Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Pisdura, Maharashtra, India. Internat. Jour. Geol., Earth and Envi. Sci. (Online), v.4 (1), pp.174-183.
Muravnik, L.E. and Shavarda, A.L. (2011) Pericarp peltate trichomes in Pterocarya Rhoifolia: Histochemistry, Ultrastructure and chemical composition. Internat. Jour. Plant Sci., v.172(2), pp.159-172.
Patterson, R.T. and Kumar, A. (2002) A review of current testate rhizopod (thecamoebian) research in Canada. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoeco., v.180, pp.225-251.
Porter, S.M. and Knoll, A.H. (2000) Testate amoebae in the Neoproterozoic Era: Evidence from vase- shaped microfossils in the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon. Paleobiology, v.26, pp.360–385.
Prasad, V., Caroline, A.E., Stromberg, C.A.E., Alimohammadian, H. and Sahni, A. (2005) Dinosaur Coprolites and the Early Evolution of Grasses and Grazers; Science, v.310, pp.1177-1180.
Prasad, V., Stromberg, C.A.E., Leache, A.D., Samant, B., Patnaik, R., Tang, L., Mohabey, D.M., Ge, S. and Sahni, A. (2011) Late Cretaceous origin of the rice tribe provides evidence for early diversification in Poaceae. Nature Communication, v.2, 480/DOI:10.1038/ncomms1482.
Read, D.J. (1984) The structure and function of the vegetative mycelium of the mycorrhizal roots, In: Jenny A.B.M. Rayner, D.H. (Eds.), the ecological and physiology of the fungal mycelium. Cambridge Univ. Press, pp.215-240.
Read, D.J. (1991a) Mycorrhizas in ecosystems. Experientia, v.47, pp.376-391.
Read, D. J. (1991b) Mycorrhizas in ecosystems-nature's response to the Law of the minimum In: Hawksworth, D.L. (Eds.), Frontiers in mycology. Regensburg, CAB International, pp.101–30.
Samant, B. and Mohabey, D.M. (2005) Response of Flora to Deccan Volcanism: A Case Study from Nand-Dongargaon Basin of Maharashtra, Implications to Environment and Climate. Gond. Geol. Magz., Spl. v.8, pp.151-164.
Samant, B. and Mohabey, D.M. (2009) Palynoflora from Deccan volcanosedimentary sequence (Cretaceous-Palaeogene transition) of central India: implications for spatio-temporal correlation. Jour. Biosci., v.34, pp.811-823.
Samant, B. and Mohabey, D.M. (2014) Deccan volcanic eruptions and their impact on flora: Palynological evidence. Geol. Soc. Amer. Spec. Papers; v.505, pp.171-191.
Schmidt, A.R., Schonborn, W. and Schafer, U. (2004) Diverse fossil amoebae in German Mesozoic amber. Palaeontol., v.47, pp.185–197.
Schonborn, W., Dörfelt, H., Foissner, W., Krienitz, L., Schäfer, U., (1999) A fossilized microcenosis in Triassic amber. Jour. Eukaryot. Microbiol., v.46, pp.571–584.
Selkirk, D.R. (1975) Tertiary fossil fungi from Kiandra, New South Wales; Proc. Linn. Soc. Nw., v.100, pp.70-94.
Sharma, N., Kar, R.K., Agrawal, A. and Kar, R. (2005) Fungi in dinosaurian (Isisaurus) coprolites from the Lameta Formation (Maastrichtian) and its reflection on food habit and environment. Micropaleont., v.51, pp.73-82.
Tolonen, K., Warner, B.G., Vasander, H. (1992) Ecology of testaceans (Protozoa, Rhizopoda) in mires in Southern Finland.1. Autecology. Arch Protistenkd., v.142, pp.119-138.
Tandon, S.K. (2002) Record of Influence of Deccan volcanisn on contemporary sedimentary environment in central India. Sediment. Geol., v.147, pp.172192.
Tandon, S.K. (2005) Sedimentary Environments of late Cretaceous Sequences of Central India: Influence of Deccan Volcanism. Gond. Geol. Magz., Spec., v.8, pp.1-4.
Tandon, S.K. and Andrews, J.E. (2001) Lithofacies associations and stable isotopes of palustrine and calcretes carbonate: examples from an Indian regolith; Sedimentology, v.48, pp.339-355.
Tandon, S.K., Sood, A., Andrews, J.E. and Dennis, P.F. (1995) Paleoenvironment of the Dinosaur-Bearing Lameta Beds (Maastrichtian) Narmada Valley, central India. Palaeogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol., v.117, pp.153-184.
Turner, S.D., Friese, C.F. (1998) Plant mycorrhizal community dynamics associated with moisture gradient within a rehabilitated Prairie fern. Restoration Ecology, v.6(1), pp.1-44.
Verma, A. (1990) Function and application of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Arid and Semi-Arid soils. In: Verma, A., Hock, B. (Eds.), Mycorrhiza, Structure, Function, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. SpringerVerlagHeidelberg, pp.521-556.
Von Huene, F.B. and Matley, C.A. (1933) The Cretaceous Saurischia and Ornithischia of the Central Provinces of India. Palaeontographica Indica N.S. XXI, pp.4-5.
Waggoner, B.M. (1996) The first fossil cyphoderiid testate amoeba, in Dominican Republic amber (Eocene Oligocene): PaleoBios, v.17, pp.17-19.
Warner, B.G. (1990) Testate Amoebae (Protozoa). Methods in Quaternary Ecology. Geoscience, Canada 5. Geol. Assoc. Canada, pp.65-74.
