Cretaceous (Albian-Turonian) calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the onshore Cauvery Basin, southeastern India

Sudeep Kanungo, Paul Bown, Andrew Gale

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    104 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    A suite of outcrop samples from the Cauvery Basin belonging to the mudrock-claystone dominated Karai Formation were analysed for nannofossil biostratigraphy in two newly measured sections at Karai and Garudamangalam. The age of the Karai Section is interpreted as early Albian to early Turonian, whereas the Garudamangalam Section is interpreted as late Albian to late Cenomanian. The Albian ‘BC’ zones of Bown et al. (1998) are applicable in both sections, whereas the Cenomanian and Turonian ‘UC’ zones of Burnett (1998), are only partially applicable, due to some problematic primary and secondary markers. The Albian-Cenomanian boundary appears to be continuous and is approximated in both sections using the FO of lower Cenomanian ammonites of the M. mantelli Zone. The Cenomanian-Turonian boundary interval is incomplete in the two sections, with a hiatus of ~0.66 myr, indicated by the absence of the upper Cenomanian Nannofossil Zone UC5. The nannoplankton assemblages are composed of broadly cosmopolitan taxa, despite the relatively high-latitude setting of SE India during the Albian (~45°S), which is reflected in the common occurrence of biogeographically bipolar taxa such as Repagulum parvidentatum and Seribiscutum primitivum. The palaeobiogeographic affinity of the nannoplankton, however, does not bear a distinct Austral stamp, as typical Austral taxa, such as Sollasites falklandensis and Zeugrhabdotus kerguelenensis are very rare in the studied sections. The early appearance of Crucibiscutum hayi in the lower Albian, and Gartnerago segmentatum in the upper Albian in the Cauvery Basin suggests that these two species may have originated in southern high latitudes before migrating to the northern Boreal regions. Four new calcareous nannofossil species, Calculites karaiensis, Loxolithus bicyclus, Manivitella fibrosa and Tranolithus simplex are described.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article number104644
    Number of pages22
    JournalCretaceous Research
    Volume118
    Early online date17 Nov 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2021

    Keywords

    • Cretaceous
    • Nannofossils
    • Ammonites
    • Fossils
    • Correlation
    • South India
    • Gondwana
    • Karai
    • Garudamangalam
    • Palaeobiogeography
    • Austral

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Cretaceous (Albian-Turonian) calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the onshore Cauvery Basin, southeastern India'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this