Jurassic Foraminifera from Habo Dome, Kachchh, Gujarat

Abstract

Foraminiferal assemblages covering 86 species are recorded from Jurassic rocks of Habo Dome, Kachchh out of which, 30 species are described for the first time from the Indian province and 52 for the first time from Habo Dome. Families Vaginulinidae and Lituodidae are dominating in the present assemblages. Preliminary interpretations related to age, depositional environment, and paleobiogeography are attempted. Based on various short-ranging species, the present foraminiferal assemblages suggest Bathonian to Oxfordian age for the studied sequence. Based on dominance of calcareous hyaline tests, genus Lenticulina and morphogroup J1, the sediments of Habo Dome are interpreted to have been placed in a shallow, open marine environment shifting between mid to outer shelf regions and having average salinity, average to high oxygen levels, and a relatively high sedimentation rate and nutrient influx.