Floristical and Palaeoecological implications of the Early Cretaceous sequences of Krishna-Godavari Basin, East coast of India

The Early Cretaceous plant diversity and palaeoecology of the Krishna-Godavari Basin flora is studied. The study is based on the plant fossils collected by the authors during the recent years and published reports of past work. Nature and mode of preservation of the leafy fossils were considered to understand the vegetation relationship. Similarly, Nearest Living Equivalent method and palaeoecological information of diverse plant groups from the published sources, along with sedimentological inputs are adopted to draw the palaeoenvironnement. The results show that the flora was dominated by bennettitaleans. The vegetation includes plant fossils from the parauto- to allo-chthonous sources. The association of the plant fossils with marine fauna indicates the vegetation was growing near to the sea. The phytogeographical correlation of the flora shows its similarity with that of Antarctica and Australia in the generic composition but greatly differ in specific composition. The composite flora indicates the prevalence of warm and humid conditions.