Palaeocene Rhodophycean Algae from the Ninniyur Formation of the Cauvery Basin, southern India

Abstract

The sediments of the Ninniyur Formation, Ariyalur are characterised by exceptionally rich assemblages of algae, of which the coralline algae constitute a major component. The present paper documents 32 species of coralline algae, distributed among eleven genera and five unnamed members of sub-family Melobesioideae, from the algal beds of this formation from Ninniyur and the neighbouring areas. An attempt is made to discuss the depositional environment, using actualistic interpretation of the ecological data on the recovered red algae and the associated fossils in conjunction with information on geological aspects gathered from the existing literature. Based on these, it is inferred that the deposits of the Ninniyur Formation were laid down in a transgressing sea within the neritic zone marked by deposition of biogenic accumulations.