south africa – Deposits Mag

Khursheed Dinshaw (India) The Akal Wood Fossil Park is located about 18km from the desert city of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India. It has preserved fossil evidence dating back to the Jurassic Period (Fig. 6) indicating a hot and humid climate characterised by dense forests. In particular, 180-million-year-old fossils of animals and plants are preserved here. Fig. 1. The fossilised logs have been protected by iron grill cages with overhead tin sheds. The Jaisalmer Basin formed part of the southern shelf of the Tethys Ocean during Jurassic times. The area is well known for its rich geo-diversity, both in terms of landscapes and outcrops of rock types, and the variety of fossils that these rocks have preserved. When I spoke to him, Dr Sudesh K Wadhawan, who is Adviser (Geosciences) and Visiting Faculty, Director General (Retired), Geological Survey of India, explained that, “Lithostratigraphy of the geologically mapped formations displays an array of Jurassic siliciclastic, mixed carbonate-siliciclastic and carbonate rocks that range in age from Lower Jurassic to Upper Jurassic in geological timescale. A variety of depositional environment, ranging from continental fluvial to near-shore and off-shore deep marine, are interpreted and well documented in the Jaisalmer basin”. Fig. 2. Fossilised tree trunks lying scattered in an area of 21 hectares. The fossil logs, representing gymnosperms, belong to the dicotyledonous stems of these trees (Figs. 7 and 8). (In such stems, the vascular bundles are arranged in a ring, with pith concentrated at their core, rather than being scattered throughout the plant interior.) … Read More

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Margaret A Dale (UK) While planning a touring holiday, which encompassed part of the west coast of South Africa, I spotted the words “fossil park” on the map, about 150km north of Cape Town, some distance from a village called Langebaanweg. Intrigued to find out more, I searched the Internet to determine if it was accessible to the public and, if so, its opening times. I found nothing. Not to be deterred, my husband and I decided that, once we were in the country, the usual tourist literature would give us the required information. Unfortunately, once again, there was nothing. So, determined not to be defeated, we drove to the area in the hope we could find it and visit it. Fortunately, we managed both. The fossils in the park date back to the late Miocene and early Pliocene eras (Fig. 1). These are important periods in human evolution, since it is believed that the last common ancestor of humans and our closest living relatives – chimpanzees – lived during this period. Mio-Pliocene hominid fossils are extremely rare and have only ever been found in East Africa and not among the deposits found at the West Coast Fossil Park to date. Fig. 1. One of the many partly excavated fossil beds. With more than 200 different kinds of animals being identified, the park possibly represents: The greatest diversity of 5 to 5.2myr-old animal fossils found anywhere in the world; andThe richest fossil bird site older than 2myrs in the world.The … Read More

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Tag: south africa

Akal Wood Fossil Park, Rajasthan, India

West Coast Fossil Park, Western Cape, South Africa