1994-95 - Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

BSIP
Major Achievements and Activities of the Institute
The research activities of the Birbal Sabni Institute of Palaeobotany are aimed to
analyse various aspects of plant life which existed in the geological past. The remains of the
plants are found as fossils in Ule sequence ofsedimentary rocks. These fossil plants indicate
the antiquity, radiation and evolutionary pattern of early life, conditions of coal formation.
origin and evolution of different plant groups - including the Jlowering plants, environment
of deposition of various sediments, climate of the past and age and colTelation of
sedimentary deposits. Besides, the study of plant remains from Pre- and Proto-Historic
culture, the analysis of tree-ring system in the modern vis-a-vis fossil plants and study of
pollen from various lakes revealing the climate of the recent past are also included in the
study of palaeobotany. It is thus clear that Palaeobotany has interaction with Botany on one
hand and Geology on the other.
During the year 1994-95, some of the signiticant achievements carried out at the
Institute for each Project and Programme are as given below.
Research
Achievements
Early
Life
Attempts to decipher the activities of life during Precambrian and Cambrian time
(in 2500-500 million years old rocks) were continued. The study of black cherts containing
stromatolites and other fossils from the Nagod Limestone Formation (800 million years
old), Bhander Group of Khemri Kotar Hill, Satna District, Madhya Pradesh has revealed
the presence of mal building biota belonging to cyanobacteria. It is a weIl known fact that
the trails and bUlTOWSof living invertebrate animals are left on the clay or fine sand. These
traces are in due course of time are fossilized and preserved as "trace fossils". Studies in
this direction have shown two types of marks of surface trails in the Cambrian rocks which
indicate the movements of arthropods and annelids. Diversified organic remains have also
been recorded from Kolkur, Gundgurthi and Chennur viIIages, Bhima Basin, Karnataka.
Gondwana sequence and associated coals
The nature and habitat of plants which formed our precious coal reserves of Permian
age (250-280 million years old) are being studied at the Institute. The studies of plant
fossils from Auranga Coalfield, Bihar have revealed the presence of Verlebraria axes in the
coal seam. The vertical position of these axes in the coal seams may indicate their i" siw
preservation.
The first appearance of Jlowering plants, i.e., angiosperms, is stiIl an enigma for
palaeobotaoisls. Our continued efforts to find out megafossils of angiosperms in the Early
Cretaceous ( Ion 10 140 mi Ilion years old rocks) have revealed the presence of a fos5iI huit,