A Study of Jurassic Foraminifera^ from Jumara Area, Kutch
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A STUDY OF JURASSIC FORAMINIFERA^ FROM JUMARA AREA, KUTCH. TO THE AUC|WiaHB(i?0|riVERSITY m PARTIAL FUIJFIUIENT ^U^PmfllS^^^ ^^^ ^^^ DEGREE OF BY KAUSHAU NANDAN GAUR r37/3 DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH A STUDY OF JURASSIC FORAMINIFERA FROM JUMARA AREA, KUTCH. THE TO THE AUG IVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT ENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOC PHY BY KAUSHALA NANDAN GAUR M.Se., M.PhiL DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AUGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH ABSTRACT The Kutch region of the Gujarat State of India is a classic one of marine Jurassic rocks in the world. It is famous for its exceptionally rich assemblage of well- preserved taxa, particularly those belonging to Ammonoidea. It has undoubtedly provided an interesting field of study to geo-scientists since the middle of the nineteenth century. This region has, therefore, been subjected to intensive geological and palaeontological studies. A great volume of literature has since accumulated on the palaeontological and stratigraphical aspects of the Kutch geology. However, the micropalaeontological investigations, particularly on foraminifera, have been carried out after 1955 and since then numerous publications have appeared on the foraminiferal studies of the Jurassic rocks of Kutch. The present work is a comprehensive effort in this direction. It deals with a well-developed Jurassic sequence exposed at the Jumara Hills, near Jumara village in the western part of the Kutch mainland; and it is the first detailed account of Jurassic foraminifera recovered from these sediments. The Jurassic sequence of the Jumara Hills, Kutch, includes three formations, namely, Patcham, Chari and 11 Katrol, comprising the sampling units JM/i to JM/iO in an ascending order. The best exposures of these formations occur in Barh nala and Teen Phuar nala cuttings there. The Patcham ano Chari sediments of the studied sequence are mainly calcareous and have yielded a fairly rich foraminiferal assemblage comprising fifty-one species, dominated by vaginulinids and nodosariids. The Katrol sediments are chiefly arenaceous, contain oblitrated and abraded tests of post-Mesozoic foraminiferal species and therefore, they have been given a cursory treatment in the present study. The foraminiferal investigations have also led to the erection of two new species, viz., Flabellammina bharatica and Marginulina jumaraensis. Eighteen foraminiferal species are being described for the first time from the Kutch region. The taxonomy of foraminifera -constitutes the main part of the present study. It includes diagnosis, descriotion and taxonomic comments of all the fifty-one species. Dimorphism and variation of some of the species, which, are either abundant or frequent in the Juraara material, have also been worked out. F. bharatica n. sp. is abundant and exhibits high degree of morphological variation in our assemblage. It has been subjected to Ill statistical analysis. On the basis of the presence of a fairly good number of short ranging foraminiferal species, mostly confined to Callovian-Oxfordian strata in different regions of the world, it has been possible to assign a Callovian- Oxf ordian age to the studied sequence. Callovian-Oxfordian boundary has also been delineated in the Jumara area on the basis of certain marker foraminiferal species of the present assemblage. It has been endeavoured to interpret the depositional environment of the exposed Patcham and Chari sequences in the Jumara Hills on the basis of foraminiferal, lithological and field data. The study suggests that the deposition in the study-area commenced in an open marine environment with calm water conditions in the deep-shelf region and terminated wibh shoaling marine environment with intermittent fluctuations due to occasional shifting of the shore-line. For a brief span, lagoon or marsh conditions having low salinity also prevailed in the area during the deposition of the middle part of the Chari Formation and the environment was more hospitable for flourishing of the arenaceous foiaminifera. The [)resent study of the Callovian-Oxf ordian IV foraminiferal assemblage is herein used to overview the Jurassic foraminiferal biogeography of western Peninsular India. The micro-faunal investigations reveal that not only are xhe most foraminiferal species of Kutch Jurassic identical and/or similar in their morphological features to those described from different Tethyan regions but also a similar trend in their frequency is exhibited by a fairly good number of species common to these regions. The Jumara foraminiferal assemblage of Kutch, however includes some species described from different parts of Europe and North America. However, there are notable differences in their morphological characters as well as in frequency. The Jumara assemblage exhibits a distinct Tethyan affinity. The present study suggests that during Doggar and Malm epochs, Kutch was having a close sea connection with Central Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan and Rajasthan (India) on the one hand and Somalia and jVlalagache on the other. A STUDY OF JURASSIC FORAMINIFERA FROM JUMARA AREA, KUTCH. THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOLOGY BY KAUSHALA NANDAN GAUR M.Sc, M.Phil DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH 1988 T3713 m^i'i^'^^Z 6 J'" "'0 TW8IS SPCTIOIt (UibUvi-^ 1991-57 Cithorinella rhomboideo Loeblich a Tappan Chari Formation / Jumara Hiils/ Kutch Stereoscan micrograph X 410 THE$»S SECTION Dr. S. N. BHALLA Departineni, of Geology Ph. D., D. Sc Al i g 31 h ,V:u s 1 :i m IJn j v c r rj "Ly READER ALiGARH-202(X)2 30 May, 1988 This is to certify that jVir. Kaushala Nandan Gaur has completed his research under my supervision for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Aligarh jViuslim University. This work is an original contribution to our kno.vledge of the Foraminifera from the Jurassic rocks of Jumara Hills, Kutch, India. He is allowed to submit the work for the Ph. D. degree of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. ^. f^A^^jJX^ - (S. N. BHALLA; SUPERVISOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I tli,-Mil: S. i-i. Bhalla, Department of Geology, Migarh Muslim University, Migarh, for selecting the problcMn and guiding the enLire worlc. I also thank C. Gundu Rao for stimulating discussions and critical comments on the sedimentological part of palaeoecoloqical study and to B. S. Gupta and A. K. Mital for their help in statistical analysis of new species. N. L. Sharma, B. B. Gupta, Abu Talib, Zakir Husain, R. C. Tewari, P. K. Kathal, D. K. Sharma and A. K. Sisodia helped me at various stages of the work. Final illustrations are by Sayed Mohammad. The authorities of Dharam Saraaj College, Aligarh, granted me leave to persue this study which v^as funded by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, under Faculty Improvement Programme. The Chairman, Department of Geology, Aligarh Muslim University, provided research facilities. Last but not the least, I should express my gratitude to my wife Lalita Gaur, for her understanding and co-operation during the course of the present study. CO..'TENTS ACKNOV.'i-.^u''JL:..'iEi\i rs C: '1 Li: inrHU-jjcriuw i . 1 A-i;: o: sLuay 1 • Ln',r;l,lon and physiography o 1 iViolhofJology o 1 .3 .1 FIOIL; work o 1 .3 .2 Laboratory techniques 4 1 .4 4 Scope of v/ork CHAP:it] R II 7 HlSTOrliCAL REVIEV^ CHAP!fE R II 14 GE0L03V OF KUICH 3,. 1 ;VieGozoic rocks of Kutch 14 3,. 1 .1 Ivlesozoic succession of Kutch 16 3,,1 ,. 2 Patchai.i Formation 18 o,,1 ,. 3 Chari Formation 18 3.,1 ,. 4 Katrol Formation 20 3. 1., 5 Uinia Formation 22 3.I ., 6 Bhuj Formation 22 3.2 Geological setting of 23 Jumara Hills 3.2 . 1 Patcham Formation 24 3.2 .2 Chari Formation 25 3.z .3 Katrol Formation 28 CHAPTER IV SYSTB'vlATICS Classification of Foraminiferida 29 4.2 Repository of type material 30 4.3 Superfaraily Astrorhizacea 31 4.3,. 1 Family Saccamminidae 31 4.4 Superfamily Ammodiscacea 32 4.4,. 1 Family Ammodiscidae 4.5 S'Jperfamily Hormosinacea 33 4.5,, 1 F3;iiily Hormosinidae 33 4.6 S'jperfamily Lituolacea 35 4.6. 1 Fa.'.iily li'aplophragmoididae 35 4. i. 2 Fa-!ily Lituolidae 37 r . 'ily Trocholinidae bo .• "ii^ly Spirillinidae o.M>rfomily Nodosai^iacea 67 A '-I rp.i'ly Nodosariidac 67 ro,,i±Jy Vaginulinidae 87 ro.iily Glandulinidae 133 A .10 ou.jerfamily Robertinacea 136 A o iU . 1 Family Epistominidae 136 CHAl' ihn V CO.'uPOSiriON OF FORAViINIFERA 138 C! lAPrh' K VI i^^OnA.lii^IFEIiAL CHRONOLOGY AND 141 iuICROBIOSTRATIGRAPHY 6 .1 Age of Jumara sequence 141 6 .1.1 Liscussion 142 o .1.2 Conclusion 14 6 _p licrobio stratigraphy 147 6, .2.1 .'.arker Callovian foraminifera 147 6, .2.2 ;.'arker Oxfordian foraminifera 149 6. ,2.3 Callovian-Oxfordian boundary 150 CHAPTER VIC DE'^OSITIOWAL ENVIRONMEOT 151 7.1 Introduction 151 7.2 Palaeoecological Units 153 7.2.1 Unit I (samples JM/l-1 to JM/3-3) 154 7.2.2 Unit II (samples JM/4-1 to JM/4-4) 156 7.2.3 Unix III (samples JM/5-1 to JM/6-3) 160 7.2.4 Unit IV (samples JM/7-i to JM/8-2) 162 7.2.5 UniL V (samples JM/9-i to JM/9-5) 164 7.2.6 Conclusion 166 CHAPTER V. Fui iA.'.Ii^Jl FERAL COrlRELATlON 1D8 A Jb PALAEOZOOGEOGRAPHY 8.1 i-orr liniferal correlation ioo 8.1.1 nee-onal correlation 168 8.1.2 I'lXcr-regional correlation 172 8.2 . ca-ocozoogeography 174 8.2.1 174 8.2.2 •o: .'liniferal evidence 177 8.2.3 U- 173 8.2.4 Coi.cibsion V Lisr Ox-^ TEXT-FIGURES racj-ng page 1 i.ic.