Acta Palaeobotanica 57(1): 13–32, 2017 e-ISSN 2082-0259 DOI: 10.1515/acpa-2017-0005 ISSN 0001-6594 Early Cretaceous flora from the Pranhita- Godavari Basin (east coast of India): taxonomic, taphonomic and palaeoecological considerations CHOPPARAPU CHINNAPPA* and ANNAMRAJU RAJANIKANTH Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road, Lucknow 226007, Uttar Pradesh, India; e-mail:
[email protected] Received 18 November 2016; accepted for publication 18 February 2017 ABSTRACT. The Early Cretaceous flora from the Gangapur Formation (Pranhita-Godavari Basin, east coast of India) was studied. Its plant diversity and abundance patterns were examined, and its palaeoecology and environment were interpreted, based on the micro- and macrofloras and sedimentological inputs. The flora is rich and diverse, and consists of bryophytes, pteridophytes, pteridosperms, gymnosperms and angiosperms. The microflora shows higher taxonomic diversity and abundance than the macroflora. Overall, the study indicated an abundance of conifers, particularly Podocarpaceae. The taphocoenosis of the flora comprises local to regional elements derived from riverbank, floodplain, backswamp and valley settings. Taken together, the data on the flora and sedimentology suggest that warm and humid environments prevailed. KEYWORDS: microflora, macroflora, taphonomy, palaeoecology, Early Cretaceous, Gangapur Formation, Pranhita-Godavari Basin INTRODUCTION The Pranhita-Godavari Basin, named after from north of Nowgaon (19°20′N, 79°24′E) to two well known rivers of Peninsular India west of Gangapur village (19°16′N, 79°26′E) (Pranhita, Godavari), is an intracratonic and to Dharmaram and Paikasigudem in the Gondwanic rift basin trending NW-SE. The east (Kutty 1969). basin extends to the east coast and plunges The Early Cretaceous Pranhita-Godavari into a pericratonic rift basin, the Krishna- flora is known from micro- and macrofos- Godavari Basin (Lakshminarayana 1996).