On two fossil dicotyledonous woods from South Rewa, Central India

Abstract

Two specimens of silicified fossil woods, one from Ghiar and the other from Kathotia in the South Rewa Gondwana basin, Central India, are described. The two woods resemble each other considerably. These are compared to several families of the present times to which they make nearest approach, but when coming to details, it is difficult to assign them to any definite genus of any family with which they are compared. But they are comparable to the nearest degree to Celastraceae and so they have been kept provisionally under this family in a newly created genus Gondwanoxylon, with two separate species G. ghiarii gen. et sp. nov. and G. kathotiai gen. et sp. nov. These woods come from an area which is generally referred to Upper Cretaceous age. The structure of these woods shows that the climatic conditions in those times were fairly uniform.