Upper cretaceous to lower palaeocene deccan intertrappean biota of the Chhindwara district Madhya Pradesh central India diversity palaeoecology palaeoenvironment and palaeobiogeography

Abstract

The intertrappean sediments associated with the Deccan traps yield significant biotic remains in order to evaluate palaeodiversity, palaeoecology, palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographic relationships of the onboard biota of the Indian plate during the Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeocene time. In the present study, four intertrappean sections namely, Jhilmili, Ghat Parasia, Shriwas and Government wells (Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh), were investigated. A rich assemblage of microfossils consisting of charophytes (Platychara perlata, P. raoi, P. sahnii, Platychara sp., Peckichara cf. varians, Nemegtichara cf. grambasti, and Chara sp. 1), ostracods (Buntonia sp., Neocyprideis raoi, Limnocythere deccanensis, Frambocythere tumiensis anjarensis, Frambocythere tumiensis lakshmiae, Gomphocythere strangulata, G. paucisulcatus, Paracypretta jonesi, Stenocypris cylindrica, Periosocypris megistus, Zonocypris spirula, Z. labyrinthicos, Z. gujaratensis, Cypridopsis elachistos, Candona sp., Cyclocypris amphibolos, Talicypridea pavnaensis, Cyprois rostellum, Cyprois sp. and Darwinula sp.) and planktic foraminifera (Subbotina triloculinoides, Globanomalina compressa, Woodringina hornerstownensis, Hedbergella holmdelensis, Parasubbotina pseudobulloides, and Globigerina (Eoglobigerina) pentagona) was recovered. Biostratigraphically, it suggests an Upper Cretaceous to Lower Palaeocene age for Jhilmili and Ghat Parasia sections, and an Upper Cretaceous age for Shriwas and Government wells sections. The charophytes and ostracods show the presence low energy, fluvio-lacustrine environment at the Ghat Parasia, Shriwas well and Government well section. The presence of a mixed fluvio-lacustrine to shallow marine environment at Jhilmili is supported by non-marine aquatic freshwater charophytes, freshwater to brackish water ostracods and planktic foraminifera. Palaeobiogeograpically, the Jhilmili charophytes indicate that during Cretaceous Palaeogene timespan the Indian subcontinent mainly experienced interchange with Laurasia.