A Teredolites infested fossil wood from the Lower Eocene sediments of the Vastan Lignite Mine of Gujarat, western India

Abstract

The Vastan Lignite Mine, situated about 30 km northeast of Surat in Gujarat, preserves a fairly continuous record of near shore lignites interbedded with lagoonal and open marine sediments bearing foraminifera and molluscs. This paper reports a teredo-infested fossil dicotyledonous wood belonging to Family Meliaceae from the carbonaceous shale sequence near the top of the Lower Eocene section. The wood is well preserved and shows resemblance with the extant woods of the genus Aglaia Lour. The presence of wood suggests a fluvial transport from its natural habitat of an inland moist tropical forest to a nearby coastal region. The profuse infestation of the wood by teredos further indicates considerable exposure before burial probably in a near shore lagoon or tidal flat area where it was bored by Teredolites.