Open AccessAngiosperms from the Early Cretaceous sediments of India
Author(s) -
Chinnappa Chopparapu,
Annamraju Rajanikanth,
Pauline Sabina Kavali,
Sarah Gonçalves Duarte
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geologia usp. série científica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.237
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2316-9095
pISSN - 1519-874X
DOI - 10.11606/issn.2316-9095.v20-171976
Subject(s) - cretaceous , macrofossil , biology , paleontology , assemblage (archaeology) , ecology , botany , pollen
This study presents the first report of angiosperm macrofossil assemblage from the Early Cretaceous sediments of India, containing a fruit, a spike, a petal, leaves, and an axis from the Krishna Godavari Basin. This assemblage provides clues to angiosperm evolution and ecology during the Early Cretaceous of India. The described enigmatic forms are comparable to fruits of Trapa, and palm leaves and spikes of Potamogeton. The fossil material also includes ribbon-like leaves with a small axis; fossil remains suggest affinity with the monocotyledon group and support recent morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies to establish the divergence of this group from dicotyledons, during the early Cretaceous. Fossils described in the present study suggest an affinity for an aquatic environment that appears to be ideal for some early angiosperms.