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PESD_GSU_20200722_0953_(new): Taphonomic significance of two discrete
biotic elements, a new remingtonocetid whale and larger benthic foraminifera
from the Eocene of Kutch basin, India

PESD_GSU_20200722_0953_(new)
1. Project Title:

Taphonomic significance of two discrete biotic elements, a new remingtonocetid whale and
larger benthic foraminifera from the Eocene of Kutch basin, India.

2. Name of Proposing Scientists:
Dhurjati Prasad Sengupta
3. Name of Others Scientists associated with their affiliation:
From the Institute:

Prof. Saswati Bandyopadhyay, Prof. Parthasarathi Ghosh, Dr. Shiladri Sekhar Das, Ms.
Sanjukta Chakravorti SRF, Ms. Sreemoyee Chakraborty SRF and one JRF, all from ISI,
GSU, Kolkata.
From Other Institutions:

None
4. Date of Commencement: 01/04/2021
5.Expected Date of Completion: 31/03/2024

6. Project Summary(Max. 300 words):
Kutch basin of western India is well known for its Paleogene succession. Eocene part of the
succession containing the Naredi, Harudi and Fulra Formations, are known for its fossil
whales and larger benthic foraminifera. Recently a new remingtonocetid have been unearthed
during a pilot field trip from the Harudi Formation. Remingtonocetidae is a well-studied
group. On the other hand, larger benthic foraminifera like Assilina, Nummulites and
Discocyclina of Naredi, Harudi and Fulra Formations are also extensively studied. Even the
coquina bed, near the base of Harudi, is also fairly studied and dated as Lutetian through
87Sr/86Sr isotopes. However, the detailed taphonomy of the vertebrates or larger benthic
foraminifera has not been attempted so far. Apparently, the taphonomy of those widely
different taxonomic groups seems to be unrelated. However, taphonomy of Assilina of Naredi,
the significance of the gypseous shale below it, the taphonomy of the coquina shells and the
whales from the brownish shell unit above as well as the taphonomy of diverse nummilitids
and Discocyclina of Fulra limestone will produce a holistic picture of how the major elements
of the Eocene biota were deposited and fossilized at Kutch basin in different varieties of
limestones and shales.
7. Introduction with Background(Max. 300 words):

Geology of Kutch Basin was studied by Wynne (1867), Nagappa (1959), Biswas (1965, 1971,
1973, 1977,1992), Biswas and Raju (1971, 1973), Ray et al., (1984), Zutshi et al (1993),
Banerjee, Chattoraj, Saraswati, Dasgupta, Sarkar (2012) and Saraswati et al (2018) among
others. Other important workers are Sengupta (1964), Raju (1974), Tandon et al. (1979),
Biswas (1981), Pandey (1982), Samanta and Lahiri (1985), Ghosh and Sengupta (1988),
Pandey and Dave (1998) Anwar et al (2013), Saraswati et al., (2016) Srivastava and Singh
(2017) and Catuneanu and Dave (2017). Apart from the Jurassic, Kutch is also well known
for its Palaeogene succession. Since Marine Paleocene is possibly not present, Eocene of

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