Fossil records of Rajasthan, Western India

Most recent books on the geology of Rajasthan deal with tectonic aspects of this ancient landmass. The stimulus for writing the present book on fossil records from Rajasthan came from the realisation that Indian, as well as overseas palaeontologists, do not have a comprehensive resource on the rich fossil assemblages of the state. The book is thus a continuation of a previous publication by one of the authors (UBM) that enumerates important fossil records of Rajasthan.

The book comprises information derived from the work of palaeontologists of the Geological Survey of India, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany (Now Palaeosciences) (BSIP), Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), and various academic institutions of the country. Most of the material for the book has been taken from published and publicly-available literature.

Every endeavour has been made to collect, synthesize and integrate all the available information and to design the subject matter in a form that will not only be useful for undergraduate and postgraduate students but also for researchers. Location maps of important fossiliferous localities are provided to help scientists to locate and visit sites with ease. A bibliography has been appended at the end of each chapter.

The six chapters in this book are arranged in chronological order - starting at Archean and ending with Quaternary. Each chapter records the fossil fauna and flora of the corresponding geological eon, era, or period. Chapter 1 deals with Archean Eon, chapter 2 with the Proterozoic Eon, chapter 3 with the Paleozoic Era, chapter 4 with the Mesozoic Era, chapter 5 with the Palaeogene-Neogene Epochs, and chapter 6 with the Quaternary Period. While dealing with fauna and flora under each chapter, biological classification could not be followed, as their importance is different under geological periods.

Also includes illustrations (Some colored figures), epilogue and about the author.