Language: English
From the foreword:
"The present work is restricted to the western-most part of Kathiawar (Saurashtra), covering Okha Mandal and Kalyanpur Talukas of Iamnagar district of Gujarat, India. The author came across several fossiliferous horizons, a few with abundant and well preserved fauna during the geological mapping by the Geological Survey of India in Gujarat (Field seasons 1988-89 & 1989-90). Thus, it was felt that there is ample scope to work out the fauna systematically and modernise the taxonomy. The molluscan and coral collections of about 800 specimens have been identified, described and illustrated, with more than 220 forms listed and described in the following eight chapters. Besides, thin sections of the rock specimens were also prepared to study the microfacies. Finally, an attempt has been made to establish biostratigraphy and biozonation and to correlate the different Neogene beds of various sections to infer the relative age.
In last 30 years living corals and dead corals of Jamnagar district in Gujarat were studied by a number of workers. The present study is a pioneering work on the fossil corals of the Gaj Formation from Kathiawar (Saurashtra). As there are no detailed studies of contemporary fossil corals from Gujarat, this Palaeontologia Indica volume will serve to bridge this gap.
An attempt is also being made here to propose five biostratigraphic zones for the Gaj and the Dwarka Formations. Zonal fossils are so chosen that they are of more or less restricted range to the zone and correspond to concerned age for the Indo-Pacific Region. It is hoped that this Palaeontologia Indica volume will benefit geologists, especially palaeontologists working in the western part of India, and others for correlation and reference work."