SOUVENIR COMMITTEE - Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

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Training Programme on “PALYNOLOGY IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPLORATION”
[ September 10-17, 2012 ]
PALAEOPALYNOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
TERTIARY SPORE-POLLEN AND DINOFLAGELLATE CYSTS
M R RAO
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53 University Road, Lucknow-226 007
E-mail: rao.mr2008@gmail.com
The term, Palaeopalynology, owes its derivation to the Greek verb Polynein-to spread, with the
meaning the study of fossil pollen and spores. Spores and pollen grains are tiny bodies (30-200 µm in
size) produced during the reproduction cycles of plants and possess a resistant wall, an attribute that helps
these entities to be preserved in sediments. Almost uniformly distributed in air, spores and pollen settle
down on the earth and ultimately reach the water bodies like pond, lake, river and seashore. In due course
of time, these get preserved as fossils.
The term palynology was suggested by Hyde and Williams (1944) to the study of dust. The
science of Palynology deals with the spores and pollen and associated palyonodebris consisting of algal
and fungal spores, diatoms, acritarchs, dinoflagellate cysts, Hystrichosphaerids, silicoflagellates,
coccoliths, discoasters, radiolarian and chitinozoa. This branch of study assumed importance due to the
exploratory activities for coal and oil as, these studies have proved to be immensely effective in handling
various problems related with age determination of strata, correlation of marine and fresh-water deposits,
determination of palaeoecology and palaeoenvironment, fine biostratigraphic zonation and indication of
areas favourable for hydrocarbon generation.
In this presentation, an attempt has been made to show how the Tertiary spore-pollen have
been important in biostratigraphic and palaeoecological interpretations.
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow
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