In order to infer the climate and the floral changes during the early Cenozoic of central India, a critical analysis has been made of the generic composition of Deccan Intertrappean series of India, which is now known...In order to infer the climate and the floral changes during the early Cenozoic of central India, a critical analysis has been made of the generic composition of Deccan Intertrappean series of India, which is now known to a greater extent. Most of the information regarding Deccan Intertrappean flora is derived from the assemblages from Vidharbha-Chhindwara region and Mandla District in central India. The Vidharbha-Chhindwara region constituted by taxa representing all major groups of plant kingdom belonging to different habitats like(i) marine(3 genera of doubtful marine alga)(ii) estuarine(27 species of palms, Nypa and Viracorpon like Pandanaceous fruits, Sonneratia, Cocos like plants)(iii) fresh water(6 genera of fresh water algae, water ferns, Eichhornia, Nymphea like hydrophytic angiosperms)(iv) marshy(5 genera of bryophytes, water ferns, Selaginella and Equisetum like pteridophytes and many angiospermic plants showing aerenchymatous tissue and few parts infected by fungal spores) and(v) terrestrial(2 families of gymnosperms and 15 families of arborescent angiosperms). Mandla-Dindori District mainly comprise angiospermous flora. These constitute 15 species of palm woods and woods of 25 dicot families indicating terrestrial dry habitat. The fossil flora so far recovered from these beds indicate that the tropical evergreen to semi-evergreen type forests with some moist deciduous plants, similar to the present day forests of Western Ghats, and northeast India, were flourshing around Vidharbha, Chhindwara and Mandla area of Central India during Upper Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary period, in contrast to the present day dry deciduous to moist deciduous types of forest. This flora was well represented in India in the past but has become restricted to Burma and Andaman-Nicobar Islands due to change in the climatic conditions. The comparison of the temperature data from these fossiliferous localities and the comparable modern areas clearly indicates that the climate in Central India was much more uniform throughout the year.展开更多
基金supported by the University Grants Commission-New DelhiPrincipal J M Patel College Bhandara-India
文摘In order to infer the climate and the floral changes during the early Cenozoic of central India, a critical analysis has been made of the generic composition of Deccan Intertrappean series of India, which is now known to a greater extent. Most of the information regarding Deccan Intertrappean flora is derived from the assemblages from Vidharbha-Chhindwara region and Mandla District in central India. The Vidharbha-Chhindwara region constituted by taxa representing all major groups of plant kingdom belonging to different habitats like(i) marine(3 genera of doubtful marine alga)(ii) estuarine(27 species of palms, Nypa and Viracorpon like Pandanaceous fruits, Sonneratia, Cocos like plants)(iii) fresh water(6 genera of fresh water algae, water ferns, Eichhornia, Nymphea like hydrophytic angiosperms)(iv) marshy(5 genera of bryophytes, water ferns, Selaginella and Equisetum like pteridophytes and many angiospermic plants showing aerenchymatous tissue and few parts infected by fungal spores) and(v) terrestrial(2 families of gymnosperms and 15 families of arborescent angiosperms). Mandla-Dindori District mainly comprise angiospermous flora. These constitute 15 species of palm woods and woods of 25 dicot families indicating terrestrial dry habitat. The fossil flora so far recovered from these beds indicate that the tropical evergreen to semi-evergreen type forests with some moist deciduous plants, similar to the present day forests of Western Ghats, and northeast India, were flourshing around Vidharbha, Chhindwara and Mandla area of Central India during Upper Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary period, in contrast to the present day dry deciduous to moist deciduous types of forest. This flora was well represented in India in the past but has become restricted to Burma and Andaman-Nicobar Islands due to change in the climatic conditions. The comparison of the temperature data from these fossiliferous localities and the comparable modern areas clearly indicates that the climate in Central India was much more uniform throughout the year.
