Non-geniculate coralline algae from the Uttatur Group (Early Cretaceous), south India

Abstract

The present paper records 8 species of non-geniculate coralline algae from the Early Cretaceous of the Uttatur Group, Tiruchirapalli District, Tamil Nadu, south India. Of these, six species are distributed among three genera of the corallinaceae family: three species belong to Amphiroa, one species is assigned to Lithothamnion and two species are placed with Lithophyllum. Two species are referable to Sporolithon of Sporolithaceae. Taxonomic differentiation is based on growth form, cell fusions and nature of conceptacle pore. The species of Amphiroa are recorded for the first time from the study area while Amphiroa kaskaella is recorded for the first time from India. Amphiroa foliacea and A. guatemalense are documented for the first time from the Uttatur Group (Cretaceous) of the Cauvery Basin. The algal association suggests depositional environments ranging from shallower to deeper parts of sea. The abundance of coralline algae indicates reefal environment.