Significance of the Meso-Neoproterozoic microfossil assemblage from the Deoban Limestone, Garhwal Lesser Himalaya

Purnima Srivastava; S. Kumar

doi:10.54991/jop.1997.1312

Authors

Purnima Srivastava Department of Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow 226007, India
S. Kumar Department of Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow 226007, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54991/jop.1997.1312

Keywords:

Microfossils, Proterozoic, Lesser Himalaya, Deoban Limestone, Garhwal, India

Abstract

The microfossil assemblage from the Deoban Limestone comprises 75 morphotaxa which have been recognised from the study of petrographic thin sections of black bedded cherts. The assemblage consists of cyanobacterial, bacterial, algal, fungal, acritarchean forms along with forms possibly of animal affinity, and has a significant bearing for palaeobiological, palaeogeographical and palaeoecological studies. The dominance of the cyanobacterial population suggests conservatism in the cyanobacterial community in the microbial setting. In diversity and level of preservation, the assemblage is comparable to the Kheinjua Formation of the Vindhyan Supergroup. If the animal affinity of the Deoban microfossil assemblage is accepted, it would indicate herbivore or heterotrophs dominated food chain in contrast to earlier producer or autotrophs dominated food chain.

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