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83
Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
Volume, 53(1), June 2008: 83-97
ISSN 0522-9630
ARUMBERIA AND ASSOCIATED FOSSILS FROM THE NEOPROTEROZOIC
MAIHAR SANDSTONE, VINDHYAN SUPERGROUP, CENTRAL INDIA
S. KUMAR and S.K. PANDEY
CENTRE OF ADVANCED STUDY IN GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW, LUCKNOW-226007, INDIA.
E-mails: surendra100@hotmail.com (S. Kumar); sangeology@yahoo.co.in (S.K. Pandey)
ABSTRACT
Three types of microbial mats, one body fossil and one unnamed form are reported from the Maihar Sandstone, the youngest lithostratigraphic
unit of the Bhander Group (Upper Vindhyans). These are Arumberia banksi Glaessner and Walter, Arumberia vindhyanensis n. form, Rameshia
rampurensis n. group and n. form, Beltanelliformis minuta McIlroy, Crimes & Pauley and Form A. Arumberia and Rameshia are considered as
organosedimentary structures formed by the interaction of microbial community with the siliciclastic sediments. They flourished in shallow marine
tidal setting. On the basis of the presence of Arumberia, an Ediacaran age is suggested for the Maihar Sandstone.
Keywords: Arumberia, Microbial mats, Ediacaran, Maihar Sandstone, Vindhyan Supergroup, Central India
INTRODUCTION
The Precambrian calcareous rocks are well known for
the preservation of microbial mats as stromatolites, but their
presence in the siliciclastic rocks has gained attention only
after their discovery in the modern siliciclastic sediments
(Davis, 1968; Bauld et al., 1992; Noffke et al., 1997; Schieber
et al., 2007; Gerdes, 2007). Identification of microbial mats
in the siliciclastic rocks is difficult in absence of definite
clues for their morphological manifestations though
attempts have been made to identify surface features in
modern sediments which owe their presence to microbial
activity. Schieber et al. (2007) have summarised the available
information about interaction of microbial mats with
siliciclastic sediments both from the modern environmental
settings as well as from the ancient rocks. Eriksson et al.
(2007) have considered microbial mats as sedimentary
structures albeit of a complex organo-physico-chemical
origin. In the present paper the microbial mats are considered
trace fossils which are produced by interaction of microbial
community and environment of deposition. In the
Precambrian which represents about 80% of the time span
of earth, the microbial community evolved with time since
Archaean. This evolution in Precambrian is well manifested
in producing varied morphologies in carbonate sequences
in the form of stromatolites; many of which are time
controlled. Similarly the microbial community must have also
produced mat structures in the siliciclastic sediments some
of which might have been time controlled. However, not
much information is presently available on these structures.
One such organo-sedimentary structure is Arumberia
Glaessner and Walter reported from the siliciclastic
sediments and considered to have been formed by the
interaction of sediments with microbial mats. It has a
restricted distribution in the late Neoproterozoic (Bland,
1984; McIlroy and Walter, 1997). The paper describes
Arumberia and associated fossils from the Late
Neoproterozic Maihar Sandstone, the youngest
lithostratigraphic horizon of the Vindhyan Supergroup,
Maihar area, district Satna, Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) and
discusses its significance in biostratigraphic correlation and
in suggesting age.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
The Vindhyan Supergroup occupies 1,66,400 sq km in
Central India constituting the largest Proterozoic basin in India
(Fig. 1). In addition about 40,000 sq. km is concealed under the
Gangetic alluvium in the north (Srivastava et al., 1983). It extends
from Deri-on-Son, Bihar in the east to Hoshangabad (M.P.)
and Chittorgarh, (Rajasthan) in the west. In the southern and
southwestern parts, it is covered by the Deccan Traps.
Representing deposits of an intracratonic basin, the Vindhyan
Supergroup attains a huge thickness of more than 4 km. The
rocks are represented by sandstones, shales, limestones,
dolostones, conglomerates and porcellanites. The rocks are
unmetamorphosed and least disturbed. The rocks, in general
show excellent preservation of sedimentary structures,
stromatolites, carbonaceous mega fossils and microfossils
(Auden, 1933; Valdiya, 1969; Singh, 1976; McMenamin et al.,
1983; Prasad, B., 1984; Kumar, 1980, 2001; Venketachala et al.,
1996; Kumar and Srivastava, 1997, 2003; Prasad, 2007, Prasad
et al., 2007; Misra and Kumar, 2005; Sharma, 2006).
The Vindhyan Supergroup has been subdivided into four
groups; in stratigraphic order these are the Semri Group, the
Kaimur Group, the Rewa Group and the Bhander Group. Each
group is further subdivided into different formations (Table 1).
The Semri Group is generally referred to as the Lower Vindhyan
and the Kaimur, Rewa and Bhander Groups have been clubbed
as the Upper Vindhyan. The Bhander Group is the youngest
group of the Vindhyan Supergroup and has been subdivided
into four formations in the Maihar area, Satna district, M.P. In
stratigraphic order these are the Ganurgarh Shale, the Bhander
Limestone, the Sirbu Shale and the Maihar Sandstone (Table
1). The Maihar Sandstone is the youngest stratigraphic horizon
of the Bhander Group, which shows gradational contact with
the underlying Sirbu Shale (Fig. 2, 3). It has also been referred
to as the Upper Bhander Sandstone (Bhattacharyya, 1993).
The Maihar Sandstone forms well developed scarps in the
southwestern, eastern and northern sides of Maihar township
and always forms a cap rock (Plate I-a). The Maihar Sandstone
84
is about 50 to 60 m thick and is represented by sandstone,
siltstone and subordinate shale. It shows excellent preservation
of sedimentary structures including mud and dessication
cracks, large and small scale cross bedding (Pl. I, fig. b), flaser
and lenticular bedding, parallel bedding, wave and current
ripples, interference ripples, primary lineation, flute cast, current
Table 1: Lithostratigraphy of the Son Valley Section, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (modified after Auden, 1933; Bhattacharyya,
1993).
Supergroup Group Formation Important fossils Reference
Maihar Sandstone Arumberia, Beltanelliformis (Present work)
Sirbu Shale Chuaria–Tawuia assemblage Kumar and Srivastava (2003)
Bhander Group Bhander Limestone Chuaria–Tawuia assemblage, Kumar and
Baicalia baicalica, Tungussia Srivastava (2003),
and sponge spicule (?) Kumar (1976,1999)
Ganurgarh Shale –
Rewa Group Sandstone and shale Chuaria–Tawuia assemblage Rai et al. (1997)
Kaimur Group Sandstone and shale –
Vindhyan
Supergroup-----------------------------------------------------------------UNCONFORMITY------------------------------------------------------------------
Rohtas Formation Grypania–Chuaria assemblage Kumar (1995)
Semri Group Kheinjua Formation Coniform stromatolites Misra and Kumar (2005)
Porcellanite Formation –
Basal Formation Coniform stromatolites Misra and Kumar (2005)
-------------------------------------------------------------------UNCONFORMITY--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bundelkhand Granites/Bijawar phyllites
S. KUMAR AND S.K. PANDEY
85
crescent mark, penecontemporaneous deformational
structures, intraformational conglomerates (Plate I-c) and
breccia. Singh (1976) has suggested that the Maihar Sandstone
is a deposit of tidal flat – shoal complex where lower part
represents sandy and muddy tidal flats and the upper part
represents shoal sand bar complex with prominent wave and
strong tidal currents. According to Basumallick (1962) the
Maihar sandstone is moderate to poorly sorted subgraywacke.
He has assigned tidal flat environment of deposition to the
whole succession of the Maihar Sandstone.
AGE OF THE MAIHAR SANDSTONE (BHANDER
GROUP)
In recent years, a number of papers have been published
on radiometric dates which modified the concept of the
beginning of the sedimentation in the Vindhyan Basin from
1400 Ma to ca. 1800 Ma (see Misra and Kumar, 2005 and
references there in). Recently, Ray (2006) has reviewed the age
of the Vindhyan Supergroup and opined that the age of the
Lower Vindhyans in the Son Valley is now resolved, where as
the problems with the age of the Upper Vindhyans and their
correlation remain to be answered. Though no radiometric dates
are available for the Bhander Group, but
87
Sr/
86
Sr data for the
Bhander Group (Ray et al., 2003) points to a Neoproterozoic
age. In absence of the radiometric dates, the age of the Bhander
Group in general and age of the Maihar Sandstone in particular
have to be based on the available palaeontological record and
lithostratigraphic correlation. The stromatolites are abundantly
recorded from the Bhander Group and on this basis age has
been suggested. The Bhander Group is characterized by the
presence of Baicalia, Tungussia and Patomia and complete
absence of coniform stromatolites (Kumar, 1982; Misra and
Kumar, 2005). On the basis of stromatolites, Kumar (1982) has
suggested upper Riphean age for the Bhander Limestone. In
the Maihar area, the Maihar Sandstone is underlain by the
Sirbu Shale, from which Kumar and Srivastava (2003) have
reported Chuaria-Tawuia association along with other
carbonaceous megafossils including Phascolites and they have
suggested that the age of the Bhander Group is somewhere
between upper Riphean and Vendian. Rai (1999) for the first
time reported the occurrence of microbial mat textures from the
Maihar Sandstone and suggested Vendian age.
No Cambrian fossil has so far been discovered from the
Bhander Group. The Ediacaran fossils reported by De (2003,
2006) are not convincingly biogenic and hence ignored.
Recently Prasad (2007) has studied the microfossils recovered
from the Bhander Group by maceration technique and on this
basis has suggested latest Cryogenian to late Vendian age (ca.
650–544 Ma). Thus, the present available data supports a late
Neoproterozoic age for the Maihar Sandstone.
ARUMBERIA GLAESSNER AND WALTER, 1975
Glaessner and Walter (1975) erected a new genus
Arumberia to describe long, narrow, subparallel, straight to
gently curved grooves seen on the lower surfaces of Arumbera
Sandstone, Northern Territory, Australia. They interpreted these
NEOPROTEROZOIC FOSSILS FROM THE VINDHYAN SUPERGROUP (MAIHAR SANDSTONE)
86
structures as the remains of a cup shaped animal probably a
Coelenterate grade. Brasier (1979), however, suggested an in-
organic origin to these markings. He compared these markings
with the structures produced by paired vertices in the flume
experiments of Dzulynski and Walton (1965). They argued that
the nature of both short lived and long lived vertices were
responsible for the formation of fine grooves including lateral
extent of the radial grooves and double ridges. Bland (1984)
emphasized that Arumberia is restricted to latest Precambrian
and lower Cambrian. On this basis he supported an organic
origin. McIlroy and Walter (1997) interpreted Arumberia as
formed by the action of currents on cohesive muddy surface,
which may have been microbially bound. It is true that there
are many morphologies produced in the flume experiments of
Dzulynski and Walton (1965) as well as those produced in the
experiments of Allen (1982) which compare well with the ridges
and grooves seen in the Arumberia morphology, but the most
important point is the preservation of such structures in the
sandy, non-cohesive material. If such structures are preserved
in sandy material then some process must have been involved
in making the sand cohesive and most logical is the role of
microbial mats, which flourished at the time of sedimentation.
Arumberia, in the present work is considered as an
organosedimentary structure produced by the interaction of
microbial mats, prevailing hydrodynamic conditions and the
type of sediments.
Use of binomial nomenclature for describing Arumberia
is retained for the ease of communication and convenience.
This use can be compared with the similar practice for describ-
ing stromatolites, an organosedimentary structure well pre-
a. View of the scarp showing Maihar Sandstone as cap rock overlying
the Sirbu Shale. View towards the north from Kudra village. (A=
Sirbu Shale, B= Maihar Sandstone)
b. Large scale cross bedding and ripple bedding in Maihar Sandstone,
Rampur hillock, Maihar area, M. P. The arrow marks the develop-
EXPLANATION OF PLATE I
ment of Arumberia on the bedding surface. Diameter of lens cover
= 5.5 cm.
c. Sandstone clasts seen in intraformational conglomerate, Maihar
Sandstone, Rampur hillock, Maihar area, M. P. Diameter of coin =
2.3 cm.
S. KUMAR AND S.K. PANDEY
87
KUMAR AND PANDEY
Plate I
Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
Volume, 53(1), June 2008
88
served in carbonate rocks. It is further emphasized here that
Arumberia is not a genus in the traditional sense, but a
morphogroup and its species are considered as a morphoforms.
Arumberia recorded in the Maihar Sandstone is generally
in fine grained sandstone. Unless the fine sand is made cohesive
by some process delicate morphology of Arumberia is
impossible to preserve. There are also some places when the
entire surface is covered with scaly structures, whose
morphology can not be explained by invoking inorganic
processes (Pl. II, figs. c, d). Thus, the delicate morphologies of
Arumberia in fine sand favour a biogenic origin. Microbial
community which produced Arumberia is not preserved, as is
the case with most of the stromatolites. The Maihar Sandstone
is about 50–60 m thick and shows abundant presence of
Arumberia in the middle to upper part (Fig. 3). The top 5-6 m
which shows large scale cross bedding and forms the cap rock
is devoid of Arumberia.
Salient features of Arumberia in the Maihar Sandstone
are summarized below:
1. The morphology of Arumberia is characterized by the
presence of thin ridges and grooves seen on both top and
sole of the bed and extends from several mm to tens of cm
in length. The ridges show height up to 1 mm and are upto
5 mm apart. The ridges and grooves are parallel to
subparallel and show branching. They also merge with
each other and are also curved. At places, the grooves are
criss crossed forming different shapes like oblate, elliptical,
lobate, cuspate, lenceolate etc. Long blade like form with a
marked groove in the middle is also seen. The different
types of morphologies associated with Arumberia are
shown by the line diagrams in Fig. 4 a,b,c, d & f and Pls. II,
III, IV and V.
2. In most cases the orientation of the grooves and ridges
follows the dominant palaeocurrent direction (Pl. II, fig. a).
3. The ridges and grooves are seen on plane bedding surface,
superimposed on rippled surface, washed ripple surface
and also on the flute casts (Pl. II, figs. a,c; Pl. III, fig. b; Pl.
V, fig. b) .
4. When Arumberia is developed on the rippled surface, it
shows variation with respect to crest and trough of the
ripple (Pl. II, fig. a). At places, it is restricted on the crest
and stoss side. It is also seen within the trough. Entire
rippled surfaces are also covered by ridges and grooves.
5. When Arumberia is developed on the flute cast, the ridges
and grooves radiate from an apex point or a linear zone,
which may not be the highest portion of the flute cast (Pl.
III, figs. b, c and d).
6. In one instance, the grooves and ridges are radiating in all
the directions on a flute-like structure.
7. Sandstone clasts are also associated with Arumberia (Pl.
V, fig. a).
8. Rounded to elliptical mounds of 1- 4 mm in diameter seen
on the bedding surface and considered as microbial mat
but are not included in Arumberia and given a different
name Rameshia (n. gr.) because of the absence of grooves
and ridges (Pl. IV, figs. a, b).
TAXONOMY
Five forms have been described, out of which two belong
to Arumberia, one to a new mat form Rameshia group nov.
and other two are Beltanelliformis minuta and Form A. All the
samples are deposited in the Museum of the Centre of
Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow,
U.P.
Group Arumberia Glaessner & Walter, 1975
Type Form: Arumberia banksi Glaessner & Walter, 1975
Arumberia banksi Glaessner & Walter, 1975
(Pl. II, figs. 4 a, b, c, d; Pl. III, figs. a, b, c, d; figs. a, b, c, d).
Sample No: R106, R1306, K106 and K706
Locality: Rampur Hillock and Kudra village, Maihar, Satna
district, M.P
Stratigraphic Horizon: Maihar Sandstone, Bhander
Group.
Lithology : Brown coloured fine-grained sandstone.
Description : It consists of array of straight to gently curved
parallel to subparallel ridges about 1 mm wide and separated
by flat to gently concave furrows of 1-3 mm in width. Relief
from ridge top to furrow bottom is less than 1mm. Ridge ranges
in length from 1.5 cm to 14.0 cm. Generally the ridges are parallel,
but they also bifurcate and rarely trifurcate. The ridges are
parallel to current direction or more or less right angle to the
crest of the ripple, but exceptions are also noted. Ridges are
developed on plane surface as well as on the stoss side of the
ripple. In some specimens bedding surface is almost flat and
the ridges form a carpet. At places the grooves are criss crossed
and anastomosing or scaly. They are also curved, subparallel
and radiate from a pointed and twisted nose.
Remarks: The present form shows smaller length of ridges
compared to Arumberia banksi, described from the Arumbera
Sandstone southwest of Alice Springs by Glaessner and Walter
(1975). Originally Arumberia banksi was considered a cup
shaped animal (Glaessner and Walter, 1975), but now it is
considered a microbially bound sedimentary structure (McIlroy
and Walter, 1997).
Group Arumberia Glaessner & Walter, 1975
Type Form: Arumberia banksi Glaessner & Walter, 1975
Arumberia vindhyanensis n. form
(Pl. IV, fig. d; Pl. V, figs. a, b) Fig. 4 f;
Holotype: Sample no: K206.
Paratype: Sample no: K406, K506, K606.
Locality: Kudra village, Maihar, Satna district, M.P.
GPS value: N 24° 12.35′; E 80° 38.24′
Stratigraphic Horizon: Maihar Sandstone, Bhander
Group.
a. Arumberia banksi on rippled surface of the Maihar Sandstone,
Rampur hillock, Maihar area. The arrow shows the palaeocurrent
direction. Diameter of coin = 2.2 cm.
b. Close up view of Arumberia banksi, Rampur hillock, Maihar
area. Scale length = 1.0 cm.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE II
c. Arumberia banksi on rippled surface, Kudra village, Maihar area.
Sample number K106. Diameter of coin = 2.2 cm.
d. Close up view of Arumberia banksi showing criss-crossed nature
of grooves, Kudra village, Maihar area. Diameter of
coin = 2.2 cm.
S. KUMAR AND S.K. PANDEY
89
KUMAR AND PANDEY
Plate II
Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
Volume, 53(1), June 2008
90
S. KUMAR AND S.K. PANDEY
91
Lithology: Dark brown coloured fine-grained sandstone.
Derivation of name: The form is named after the Vindhyan
Range.
Diagnosis: Long slender leaf-like morphology formed by
the grooves. Slightly tapering at the base, where it is rounded.
Distal end is spatulate or blunt at the tip. In many cases, mid
grooves divide the structure into more or less equal parts.
Leaf-like morphology is oriented broadly in palaeocurrent
direction. Sometimes they overlap with one another. With the
increase in length, their relief tends to decrease. Grooves about
1 mm wide and range in length from 1-13 cm with mean value as
3 cm. Width between two grooves varies from 2- 9 mm. Relief
from ridge top to furrow bottom is less than 1 mm.
Remarks: It differs from A. banksi in having a leaf like
morphology in which a groove divides the leaf like structure in
equal parts. The form is densely populated and attached only
with the crest of ripple or mounds of irregular surface. Possibly
a specific community of algae was responsible for the formation
of this form.
Group Rameshia n. gr.
(Figs. 4 e; Pl. IV, figs. a, b)
Type Form: Rameshia rampurensis n. form
Holotype: Sample no. R206
Locality : Rampur Hillock, Maihar, Satna district, M.P.
GPS value: N 24° 16.51′; E 80° 42.55′
Stratigraphic Horizon: Maihar Sandstone, Bhander
Group.
Lithology: Dark brown coloured fine grained sandstone.
Derivation of name: The group is named in honour of
the late Dr. Ramesh Chandra Misra who has made significant
contributions in the study of the Vindhyan Basin.
Diagnosis: Rounded or elliptical mounds with granular
surface about 1- 4 mm in diameter arranged haphazardly on a
trough of rippled surface. Crests of the ripples are generally
devoid of these mounds. Sometime mounds coalesce to form
small ridge like morphology.
Remarks: The present group differs from Arumberia in
not showing ridges and grooves, which are its diagnostic
characters. In Arumberia banksi the mounds are also
reported with grooves and ridges (see Glaessner and Walter,
1975) but they show a definite pattern whereas in the present
form the mounds are haphazardly arranged and they also
coalesce with out the presence of ridges and grooves. It
has some similarity with Beltanelliformis minuta (original
species B. minutae has been modified as B. minuta because
Beltanelliformis appears to be feminine and as per the codes
of nomenclature the species should be minuta and not
minutae as described by McIlroy et al. 2005 from the
Synalds Formation, Shropshire, England) which has been
considered a body fossil where as Rameshia is considered
an organosedimentary structure produced by the interaction
of microbial mats with the sediments. It is identified on the
basis of small mounds covering large surface of the
sandstone bed.
Rameshia rampurensis n. form
(Figs. 4 e; Pl. IV, figs. a, b)
Derivation of name: Form is named after Rampur village
as it is best exposed on Maihar–Rampur Road.
Diagnosis
: As for group.
Remarks: As for form.
Group Beltanelliformis Menner, in Keller et al., 1974
Type Form: Beltanelliformis brunsae Menner, in Keller et
al, 1974.
Beltanelliformis minuta McIlroy, Crimes & Pauley, 2005
(Pl. V, figs.c, d)
Sample No: BM106
Locality: Rampur Hillock, Maihar, Satna district, M.P.
GPS value: N 24° 16.51′; E 80° 42.41′
Stratigraphic Horizon: Maihar Sandstone, Bhander
Group.
Lithology: Red coloured fine grained sandstone.
Description: Small circular to elliptical impression without
concentric or radial markings. Diameter of individual specimens
ranges from 1.25 mm to 2.94 mm, with mean as 2.24 mm (N = 40).
Hyporelief is usually less than 1 mm in depth.
Remarks: Specimens are preserved in positive hyporelief
and compare well with B. minuta described from the Synalds
Formation (Longmyndian Supergroup, Shropshire, U.K. Wade
(1969, pl. 69, fig. 7) records ‘minute fossils’ preserved in positive
hyporelief on the slab of sandstone from the Neoproterozoic
of the Central Mount Stuart Beds, central Australia. Examples
described as ‘Dubiofossil C’ and suggested to be possible
small Beltanelliformis, were recorded from late Neoproterozoic
strata of the Warnecke Mountains, Yukon, Canada by
Narbonne & Hofmann (1987, text fig. 10 i). Bland (1984) has
also illustrated spheroid impressions, which appear to be
examples of Beltanelliformis minuta from Lightspout Group
of Longmyndian Supergroup at the Longmynd.
Form - A
(Pl. IV, fig. c)
Sample no: RC106
Locality: Rampur Hillock, Maihar, Satna district, M.P.
GPS value: N 24° 16.59′; E 80° 42.51′.
Stratigraphic Horizon: Maihar Sandstone, Bhander
Group.
Lithology: Red-coloured, fine-grained sandstone.
Description: Semicircular morphology containing at least
seven visible circular rings seen on a surface showing presence
of Arumberia banksi. It is partially preserved and the original
structure must have been circular or subcircular in outline.
The form shows sutured and serrated margins. The diameter
of the semicircular morphology is about 2.5 cm. The height of
the individual ring is less than 0.5 mm. Width of the rings is
about 1 mm. Only two partially preserved specimens have been
recorded.
Remarks: Originally, it must have been a discoidal form.
Since it is incomplete form, no final interpretation can be
attempted. However, it may represent a microbial mat structure.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
1. The paper describes five forms from the Neoproterozoic
Maihar Sandstone, out of which two belong to Arumberia
Glaessner and Walter, one to a new group and form
Rameshia rampurensis and other two are Beltanelliformis
minuta D. McIlroy, T.P. Crimes & G.C. Pauley and an
informal form referred to as Form A from the eastern part
of the Vindhyan Basin (Son valley Section) from the
Maihar area, district Satna, Madhya Pradesh. The
Arumberia forms are Arumberia banksi Glaessner &
Walter, 1975 and Arumberia vindhyanensis n. form. The
morphological differences between different morphoform
are shown in Fig. 4.
NEOPROTEROZOIC FOSSILS FROM THE VINDHYAN SUPERGROUP (MAIHAR SANDSTONE)
92
KUMAR AND PANDEY
Plate III
Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
Volume, 53(1), June 2008
a. View of the flute casted surface of sandstone showing development
of Arumberia banksi, Kudra village, Maihar area. Diameter of lens
cover = 5.5 cm.
b. Close up view of Arumberia banksi in which the grooves are
developed from the twisted nose of a flute caste, Kudra village,
EXPLANATION OF PLATE III
Maihar area. Sample number K706. Diameter of coin = 2.2 cm.
c. Close up view of Arumberia banksi showing curved grooves, Kudra
village, Maihar area. Diameter of coin = 2.2 cm.
d. Arumberia banksi showing multidirectional grooves, Kudra village,
Maihar area. Diameter of lens cover = 5.5 cm.
93
KUMAR AND PANDEY
Plate IV
Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
Volume, 53(1), June 2008
a. Rameshia rampurensis n. gr. and form on rippled surface of the
Maihar Sandstone, Rampur hillock, Maihar area. Sample number
R206. Diameter of coin = 2.3 cm.
b. Close up view of Rameshia rampurensis n. gr. and form showing
small rounded to elliptical mounds, Rampur hillock, Maihar area.
Diameter of coin = 2.3 cm.
c. Form A: semicircular morphology (marked by arrows) seen in
association with Arumberia banksi developed on the upper right
EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV
hand margin, Rampur hillock, Maihar area. Diameter of coin = 2.3
cm
d. Arumberia vindhyanensis n. form on the rippled surface, Kudra
village, Maihar area. Long slender leaf-like morphology is developed
on the stoss side of a ripple. At the crest it is rounded. Mid grooves
divide the leaf-like structure. Sample number K206. Scale length =
1.0 cm.
94
2. Arumberia and Rameshia are considered as organo-
sedimentary structures produced by the interaction of
microbial community, which flourished over the
noncohesive siliciclastic surface.
3. The Arumberia-bearing Maihar Sandstone represents
deposit of a tidal flat–shoal complex. Thus, the Arumberia
flourished in a typical shallow water marine setting with
moderate energy level.
4. The Arumberia-bearing Maihar Sandstone can be
suggested an Ediacaran age on the basis of world wide
occurrence of Arumberia near transition zone between
latest Neoproterozoic and Cambrian. This suggestion gets
support from the fact that as no typical Cambrian fossil
has so far been reported from the Vindhyan rocks. The
reported small shelly fauna and brachiopod by Azmi (1998)
and Spriggina by Kathal et al. (2000) from the Rohtas
Formation are untenable (see Kumar, 2001). The
association of Beltanelliformis with Arumberia
considered as a typical Ediacaran form gives additional
support for the Ediacaran age to the Maihar Sandstone.
There are 13 reported occurrences of Arumberia from all
over the world including the present one (Table 2). Three
reports are from the Late Precambrian to Lower Cambrian
(Walter, 1980; Kirschvink, 1978; Bland, 1984) and rests are
a. View of Arumberia vindhyanensis n. form on irregular surface of
the Maihar Sandstone, Kudra village, Maihar area. The presence of
angular clasts are marked by arrows. Scale length = 2.3 cm.
b. Close up view of Arumberia vindhyanensis n. form, Kudra village,
Maihar area. Midgroove devides the leaf-like form into two equal
parts. Scale length = 1.0 cm.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE V
c. Beltanelliformis minuta associated with microbial mats on the
bedding surface of the Maihar Sandstone, Rampur hillock, Maihar
area. Diameter of coin = 2.2 cm.
d. Close up view of Beltanelliformis minuta, Rampur hillock, Maihar
area. Scale length = 3.0 mm.
S. KUMAR AND S.K. PANDEY
95
KUMAR AND PANDEY
Plate V
Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India
Volume, 53(1), June 2008
96
from the Late Precambrian (Bland, 1984; Glaessner and
Walter, 1975; Liu Xiaoliang, 1981). Bland (1984) opined
that all the sequences in which Arumberia has been found,
appear to be latest Precambrian to Lower Cambrian while
McIlroy and Walter (1997) have said that it is present in
the latest Neoproterozoic and has not been recorded from
the pre-Ediacaran Proterozoic rocks. It appears that
Arumberia flourished near Cambrian–Precambrian
boundary.
5. In the light of the suggested Ediacaran age to the Maihar
Sandstone, it is necessary to review the record of Ediacaran
forms by De (2003, 2006) from the Bhander Group of the
Maihar area, M.P. In 2003, he has described two medusoid
genera resembling Ediacaria (Sprigg 1947) and Hiemalora
(Fedonkin, 1982) from a shale horizon occurring at the
base of the Bhander Group (Ganurgarh Shale), Maihar area,
M.P. However, nothing can be made out from the
photographs concerning the morphology of the said forms.
Much of the inferences are drawn on the basis of
reconstruction. In our opinion they do not look biogenic
and hence the identification is unacceptable. In 2006, he
again described 9 coelenterate genera, one arthropod genus
and a few unnamed possible new forms belonging to
sponge and coelenterate from the two horizons belonging
to Bhander Limestone and the Sirbu Shale respectively.
None of the forms look convincingly biogenic. Again much
of the inferences concerning the morphology of the forms
are based on the reconstructions. With very poor quality
material it is difficult to make important and significant
conclusions and as such the discovery is ignored. In the
Ganurgarh Shale at the base of the Bhander Limestone
and in the overlying Sirbu Shale horizon Arumberia has
not been recorded. Only in the Maihar Sandstone, the
youngest horizon of the Bhander Group, Arumberia is
abundantly seen. In the light of the above facts the
chances of the discovery of Ediacaran assemblage is
possible only in the Maihar Sandstone horizon and any
Ediacaran fossil reported underlying this horizon needs a
thorough scrutiny.
6. Form A represents a circular body with concentric rings.
Only two poorly preserved forms have been recorded and
it is not possible to reconstruct the actual body of the
fossil. There is a possibility that it represents a microbial
mat structure.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors express their thanks to Prof. M.P. Singh, Head,
Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow
for providing working facilities in the department. They are
also thankful to Dr. Purnima Srivastava and Dr. Mukund Sharma
for the help during the course of investigation. They are grateful
to Dr. H. J. Hofmann (McGill University, Montreal) for reviewing
the manuscript and for helpful suggestions. The earlier draft
was reviewed by Dr. S. B. Misra. Financial assistance from the
DST, New Delhi in the form of a research project entitled
“Biozonation and Correlation of Neoproterozoic Bhander
Group, Central India” is thankfully acknowledged.
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Manuscript Accepted April 2008
NEOPROTEROZOIC FOSSILS FROM THE VINDHYAN SUPERGROUP (MAIHAR SANDSTONE)
