Some new carbonised woods from Neogene of Kerala coast and their bearing on palaeoclimate

Abstract

Carbonised woods resembling extant species of Hydnocarpus (Flacourtiaceae), Anisoptera and Hopea (Dipterocarpaceae) and Payena-Pataquium (Sapotaceae) are recorded from the Neogene sediments of Varkala and Payangadi, Kerala coast. They have been named as Hydnocarpoxylon keralaensis sp. nov., Anisopteroxylon varkalaensis sp. nov., Hopenium payangadiensis sp. nov. and Sapotoxylon prepayena sp. nov., respectively. The modern equivalents of these woods are among the important elements of the tropical evergreen forest of Western Ghats, Burma and Malaysia indicating the prevalence of nearly equable warm climate and excessive humid conditions in the area at the time of their deposition during Mio-Pliocene.