Annual Report 2011-2012 - Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

EBIRBAL SAHNI INSTITUT
1946
OF PALAEOBOTANY
Annual Report 2011-2012
demonstrates that palaeo-wildfires were common events
during the deposition of the preserved material. In addition,
the presence of charcoal in Permian sediments associated
with coal levels at different Gondwana localities
demonstrates that wildfires have been relatively common
events across the continent during this Period.
Rajni Tewari & A.K. Ghosh [& A. Jasper, M. Guerra-
Sommer, D. Uhl, M.E.C. Bernardes-De-Oliveira &
M.I. Secchi (Brazil)]
Surface sediment samples from the Southern Indian
Ocean have been studied to understand oceanographic
conditions. Scanning Electron Microscopy of siliceous
microfossils has also been done to study detailed
morphology. A manuscript based on the siliceous
sediments of Southern Indian Ocean has been prepared.
Vartika Singh [& NCAOR, Goa]
The anamorphic fungal genus Monotosporella
(Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes) has been recovered from
both a piece of Lower Eocene Indian amber and the
surface of extant resin flows in New Caledonia. The fossil
was obtained from the Tarkeshwar lignite mine of Gujarat
State, western India, and was part of the biota of an early
tropical angiosperm rainforest. The amber inclusion
represents only the second fossil record of
Sordariomycetes, as well as the first fossil of its order
(either Savoryellales or Chaetosphaeriales). The fossil
fungus is distinguished from extant representatives by
possessing both short conidiophores and small two-septate
pyriform conidia, and is described as Monotosporella
doerfelti sp. nov. Inside the amber, the anamorphs are
attached to their substrate, which is likely the degraded
thallus of a Cladonia-like lichen. The extant New
Caledonian species is assigned to Monotosporella setosa.
It was found growing on semi-solidified resin flows of
Agathis ovata (Araucariaceae), and is the first record
of Monotosporella from modern resin substrates.
Because of their habitat specificity, it has been suggested
that these fungi use liquid resin as their sole nutrient
source.
Hukam Singh [& Scientists (from Germany, USA)]
A new species of fossil palm stem, Palmoxylon
vastanensis sp. nov. is recovered from the Vastan lignite
mine, Surat district, Gujarat. The detailed anatomy is
characterized by highly lacunar ground tissue with very
large air spaces indicating that plants were growing in an
aquatic or the marshy environment. A detailed study
reveals its affinities with the extant arecoid taxa belonging
to the family Arecaceae. Among them taxa Areca
catachu, Oreodoxa (Roystonea) regia and Loxococos
rupicola, it closely resembles with Areca catechu as
both fossil and living species reveal similar anatomical
features. Based on the characteristics and affinity,
palaeoenvironmental implications have been discussed.
Hukam Singh & Mahesh Prasad [& E.E. Ruiz (Mexico)]
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