Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

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Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

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Trace fossils from the Nagaur Sandstone, Marwar Supergroup, Dulmera area,
Bikaner district, Rajasthan, India
S. Kumar *, S.K. Pandey
Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow 226 007, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 21 July 2008
Received in revised form 7 October 2009
Accepted 7 October 2009

Keywords:
Trace fossils
Marwar Supergroup
Rajasthan
Nagaur Sandstone
Cambrian
Cruziana assemblage

a b s t r a c t
Thirteen trace fossils are described from the Nagaur Sandstone, the lower formation of the Nagaur Group.
These are Rusophycus didymus Salter, 1856, Chondrites isp. Brongniart, 1828, Cruziana isp. dOrbigny, 1842,
Isopodichnus isp. Bornemann, 1989, Dimorphichnus obliquus Seilacher, 1955, Monomorphichnus monolinearis Shah and Sudan, 1983, Diplichnites isp. Dawson, 1873, Skolithos isp. Haldeman, 1840, Palaeophycus
tubularis Hall, 1847, Planolites isp. Nicholson, 1873, Ichnogenus A, Trails and Scratch Marks (?). This
assemblage has been referred to as the Cruziana assemblage and on this basis the Nagaur Sandstone
has been suggested a Lower Cambrian age. The Nagaur Sandstone has been correlated with the Purple
Sandstone of Pakistan, the Tal succession of the Kumaun and Himachal Lesser Himalaya and the Garbyang, Lolab and Kunzum-La Formations of the Tethys Himalaya.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In the northwest of the Aravalli Mountain Range, the Marwar
Supergroup occupies large area in Rajasthan which was earlier referred to as the Trans-Aravalli Vindhyans, (Fig. 1). It is represented
by a thick pile of sediments made up of sandstones, shales, carbonates, and evaporites occupying an area of about 51,000 sq. km (Paliwal, 2007). The rocks are unmetamorphosed and undeformed and
show excellent preservation of sedimentary structures. The Marwar Supergroup has been subdivided into three groups; in stratigraphic order these are the Jodhpur Group, the Bilara Group and
the Nagaur Group which attain a total thickness of more than
1000 m (Pareek, 1984). It unconformably overlies the Neoproterozoic Malani Igneous Suite which has been dated between 780 and
681 Ma (Rathore et al., 1999). The Malani Igneous Suite represents
the largest event of anorogenic felsic magmatism in India covering
an area of ca 50,000 sq. km. in Rajasthan and Haryana states (Sharma, 2004). The Marwar Supergroup is unconformably overlain by
the Permo-Carboniferous Bap Boulder Bed.
Earlier, the Marwar Supergroup was considered unfossiliferous
though stromatolites were known since 1964 (Khilnani, 1964).
Raghav et al. (2005) recorded for the rst time the occurrence of
a medusoid fossil Marsonia from the Jodhpur Group. A variety of
microbial mat structures have now been reported from the Jodh-

* Corresponding author. Fax: +91 (0522) 2740037.

E-mail addresses: surendra100@hotmail.com (S. Kumar), sangeology@yahoo.
co.in (S.K. Pandey).
1367-9120/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2009.10.003

pur Group (Sarkar et al., 2008). Kumar and Pandey (2008) announced the discovery of four trace fossils from the Nagaur
Group exposed in the Dulmera area, about 65 km from Bikaner
on the Bikaner Ganganagar Road, Bikaner district, western Rajasthan. It helped in suggesting Lower Cambrian age to the upper part
of the Marwar Supergroup. The paper presents a detailed work on
the trace fossils of the Nagaur Sandstone from the Dulmera area
from where Kumar and Pandey (2008) have discovered the trace
fossils. It describes thirteen trace fossils and also discusses their
stratigraphic signicance in correlation.
2. Geological setting
The Marwar Supergroup is exposed in the JodhpurNagaurKhatu area in the western Rajasthan (Fig. 1). It forms small hillocks and
escarpments in a plain desertic setting and as such the exposures
are scanty. As mentioned earlier the rocks unconformably overlie
the Malani Igneous Suite which has been dated between 780 and
681 Ma (Rathore et al., 1999) and is unconformably overlain by
the Permo-Carboniferous Bap Boulder Beds. The Marwar Supergroup has been subdivided into three Groups viz., the Jodhpur
Group, the Bilara Group and the Nagaur Group (Table 1). Both the
Jodhpur and the Nagaur Groups are argillo-arenaceous units while
Bilara Group is a calcareous succession from where stromatolites
have been recorded (Khilnani, 1964; Barman, 1987). The Jodhpur
Group has yielded Arumberia banksi, Beltanelliformis, Aspidella and
cf. Hiemalora (Kumar and Pandey, 2009), microbial mat structures
(Sarkar et al., 2008), megaplant fossils (Kumar et al., 2009) and

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S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

Fig. 1. Geological and location map of the Dulmera area, District Bikaner, Rajasthan (after Pareek, 1984).

Table 1
Stratigraphic succession of the Marwar Supergroup (after Pareek (1984), Chauhan et al. (2004) and Mazumdar and Bhattacharya (2004)).
Age

Supergroup

Group

Formation

Lithology

Permo-Carboniferous
Bap Boulder Beds
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unconformity ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Early Cambrian
Nagaur Group (75500 m)
Tunklian Sandstone
Brick red sandstone, siltstone & red claystone
Nagaur Sandstone
Brick red sandstone, siltstone & red and green clay beds
to

Marwar Supergroup Bilara Group (100300 m)

Pondlo Dolomite
Gotan Limestone
Dhanapa Dolomite

Cherty dolomitic limestone

Interbeded dolomite & limestone
Dolomitic limestone with cherty lenses

Late Neoproterozoic

Jodhpur Group (125240 m) Jodhpur Sandstone

Reddish gritty sandstone with maroon clay beds
Pokaran Boulder Bed
Conglomerate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Unconformity ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------780 681 Ma
Malani Complex/Aravalli Rocks

Marsonia (Raghav et al., 2005). On the basis of carbon isotope data

Precambrian/Cambrian boundary has been suggested within the
Bilara Group (Pandit et al., 2001; Mazumdar and Bhattacharya,
2004). The youngest Nagaur Group has been subdivided into two
formations; the lower is the Nagaur Sandstone and the younger is
the Tunkilian Sandstone. The Nagaur Group unconformably overlies
the Pondlo Dolomite. The lower most unit is represented by about

5 m thick conglomerate made up of wide assortment of pebbles

and cobbles seen in a sandy to calcareous matrix and is locally
developed (Pareek, 1984). The Nagaur Group is characterized by
red, mottled red and brick-red sandstones attaining the maximum
thickness of about 500 m (Pareek, 1984). The Nagaur Sandstone
comprises a thick succession of brick-red claystone, siltstones and
sandstone with bands of clay (Pareek, 1984).

S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

Remark:

Structure shows close resemblance with

Rusophycus didymus Salter, 1856. Present
specimens are slightly bigger in size than reported
species from the slope deposits of Metapadia
Group of Tobique River, western New Brunswick,
Canada (see Pickerill et al., 1988). Rusophycus is
interpreted as a resting trace of trilobite and is an
important member of the Cruziana ichnofacies
(Hntzschel, 1975).

Ichnogenus:

Chondrites Brongniart, 1828

Chondrites isp. (Fig. 3D)
R2008
One slab of ne grained sandstone with
specimens seen on the top of the bed.
Specimen shows regular dendritic pattern of
small cylindrical tunnel system lying parallel to
the bedding plane. Individual tunnel system
does not cross each other. Diameter of tunnel
ranges between 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm and
remains constant throughout the length.
Angle of branching ranges between 25
and 65.
Present specimens show great resemblance with
Chondrites Brongniart, 1828 in dendritic pattern
and tunnel system. Chondrites undoubtedly
belongs to Fodinichnia and is to be regarded as a
feeding structure of sediment eating animal
(Seilacher, 1955; Osgood, 1970).

Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:

Fig. 2. Litholog of the Nagaur Sandstone showing the position of trace fossils,
Dulmera area, Bikaner district, Rajasthan.

In the Dulmera area, about 18 m thick succession of the Nagaur

Sandstone is exposed in the mine pits from where the sandstones
are being extracted (Figs. 1 and 2). The beds are more or less horizontal. The lithology is represented by sandstone with minor siltstones and shales. The light grey to brick coloured ne to medium
grained sandstone constitutes the dominant lithology. The brown
mudstone and red shales with few streaks of green shales are also
seen. Large scale and small scale cross bedding, massive bedding
and parallel bedding are the dominant sedimentary structures.
Wave ripple marks and mud cracks are also seen. Mud gals in
the sandstones are quite common. No body fossil has so far been
reported from the Nagaur Sandstone.

Remark:

Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material:

Description:

3. Systematic Ichnology
Thirteen trace fossils are described out of which three are informal forms. These are seen both on the top as well as on the sole of
the beds. Lithology is represented by ne sandstone and muddy
siltstone. Samples are deposited in the Museum of the Centre of
Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, UP,
India.

Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material

Description:

Rusophycus Hall, 1852

Rusophycus didymus Salter, 1856 (Fig. 3AC)
D208
A single slab of ne grained sandstone showing
six well preserved specimens as epirelief on the
top of the bedding plane and six specimens as
hyporelief on the sole.
Structure is short, small, bilobate resembling
two coffee beans placed side by side. Often a
small median furrow is separating them. Outline
mostly elliptical. Specimens are up to 2.5 cm
long and up to 2.2 cm wide. Generally width
equals to 11.5 times the length.

79

Remark:

Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material:

Description:

Cruziana dOrbigny, 1842

Cruziana isp. (Fig. 3E and F)
D107, D308
Two slabs of ne grained sandstone containing
20 specimens oriented more or less in one
direction.
Bilobed ribbon like traces with well marked
median furrow. Scratch marks in the form of a
herringbone structure are well preserved. They
make an acute angle between 50 and 70. Length
of the structure is up to 7.2 cm with width up to
2.1 cm. Scratch marks are up to 2.2 cm long with
1 mm apart from one another.
Present specimens closely resemble Cruziana
fasciculate Seilacher, 1970 in respect of presence
of scratch marks on both the sides of the
prominent median furrow. Furrow may be
produced by the appendages of producers.
Cruziana is considered a burrow produced by
trilobites (Seilacher, 1970).

Isopodichnus Bornemann, 1989

Isopodichnus isp. (Fig. 3G and H)
D108, D208, D608, D908
Four slabs of muddy to ne grained sandstone.
Two specimens preserved as hyporelief and
two as epirelief.
It is small, straight or curved double ribbon
trail which is separated by a ne furrow.
They also intersect one another. Trails are up
to 9.0 cm long and 2.0 cm wide.

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S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

Remark:

It is comparable in morphology to Cruziana

except that it does not show any scratch marks
(sensu Frsich, 1974). Bromley and Asgaard
(1979) have suggested that it should be
included within Cruziana.

Ichnogenus:

Dimorphichnus Seilacher, 1955

Dimorphichnus obliquus Seilacher, 1955 (Fig. 4A
and B)
D107, D207
Two slabs of ne grained sandstone with two
specimens preserved as hyporelief surface.
Asymmetrical, parallel series of blunt or
comma shaped impressions arranged
obliquely to the direction of movement.
Length of the individual wedges is up to 1 cm
and width 1 mm and is 24 mm apart from
one another.
Specimens are similar to Dimorphichnus
obliquus Seilacher, 1955. It also resembles with
the form described from the KrolTal
succession of the Lesser Himalaya by Singh and
Rai (1983). Ichnogenus Dimorphichnus is
known from the Lower Cambrian succession of
Salt Range and is considered to have been
produced by a grazing trilobite (Seilacher,
1955).

Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:

Remark:

Ichnogenus:

Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:

Remark:

Monomorphichnus Crimes, 1970

Monomorphichnus monolinearis Shah and
Sudan, 1983 (Fig. 4C and D)
D307, D107
Two slabs of ne grained sandstone showing
two specimens on the sole of the bed.
Series of slightly curved ridges separated
from one another which are repeated
laterally. The ridges vary in length from 1 to
2 cm with width 1 mm and 12 mm apart
from one another.
Specimens show close resemblance with
Monomorphichnus monolinearis Shah and
Sudan, 1983 in pattern and nature of ridges
and are different from Monomorphichnus
bilinearis Crimes, 1977 in having a single
ridge of smaller size. It is recorded widely in
the Cambrian sequences as a grazing trail of
trilobites (Crimes, 1970).

Remark:

Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:

Remark:

Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:

Remark:

Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material:

Description:

Remark:
Ichnogenus:
Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:

Diplichnites Dawson, 1873

Diplichnites isp. (Fig. 4E)
D308, D207
Two slabs of ne grained sandstone containing
two specimens on the sole of the bed.
Single, straight to gently curved trackway
preserved as hyporelief surface. Each track
consists of two parallel equally spaced rows of
unequal ne ridges. Ridges are elongate, oblique
to track axis. Distance between two rows is up to
3 mm. Track is 1.8 cm long with 1.6 cm width.
Individual ridges are up to 6 mm in length and up
to 2 mm in width. Ridges are 5 mm apart from one
another in a row.

It compares well with Diplichnites Dawson, 1873.

Diplichnites is considered as a locomotion or
walking track of trilobite (Crimes, 1970). It is
morphologically different from Dimorphichnus
Seilacher which shows blunt or comma shaped
ridges.

Skolithos Haldeman, 1840

Skolithos isp. (Fig. 4F)
D107
One slab of ne grained sandstone containing
six burrows on the sole of the bed.
Unbranched, circular burrow up to 4 mm in
diameter distributed unevenly on the entire
slab.
Burrow shows close resemblance with
Skolithos Haldemann, 1840.

Palaeophycus Hall, 1847

Palaeophycus tubularis Hall, 1847 (Fig. 5A)
D1008
One slab of mudstone containing eight
specimens as hyporelief surface.
It is characterized by straight to slightly
curved, smooth cylindrical or sub cylindrical
burrows which are occasionally branched. It
is up to 1.2 cm long and 1 mm wide. At
places they intersect one another.
Present specimen shows close resemblance
with Palaeophycus tubularis in behavior and
nature, but is smaller in size in comparison to
the form described from the Quebrada del
Salto Alto, Upper Cambrian, Tilcara Member,
Santa Rosita Formation by Buatois et al.
(2005). They have interpreted it as an open
dwelling burrow.

Planolites Nicholson, 1873

Planolites isp. (Fig. 5B)
D408
One slab of ne grained sandstone containing
ve well preserved specimens as the hyporelief
surface.
Straight to slightly sinuous horizontal
burrow with a denite orientation. Burrows
are unbranched, 15 cm long and 13 mm
wide.
Specimen shows close resemblance with
Planolites in unbranched nature, but differs
from known species in respect of size.
Planolites often difcult to distinguish from
morphologically similar Palaeophycus Hall,
except in nonbranching nature of the
burrow. Present specimens closely resemble
with the form described from the Tal
Formation of Mussoorie Syncline (Tiwari and
Parcha, 2006). It has comparable dimensions
as described by Marenco Katherine and
Bottjer David (2007) from the Campito
Formation of the Lower Cambrian succession
of the White-Inyo Mountains, eastern
California, USA.

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S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

Trails
(Fig. 5C)
Material:
Description:

Remark:

Description:
One slab of ne grained sandstone containing
poorly preserved specimens.
Straight to sinuous trail intersecting one another.
Length is up to 5.0 mm and width is about
1.0 mm.
Kumar and Pandey (2008) have reported this
form as Aulichnites isp. Fenton and fenton 1937,
but now it is referred to as trail marks. Less relief
depth of trail and smaller size do not support the
existence of Aulichnites. Specimen has some
resemblance with Isopodichnus isp. in presence of
curved double ribbon trail.

Scratch marks (?)

(Fig. 5D and E)
Repository Ref:
Material:
Description:
Remark:

Ichnogenus A
(Fig. 5F)
Repository Ref:
Material:

Remark:

Entire structure is preserved as convex

hyporelief. Lateral margin is slightly curved
with sharp edges. Eight ne grooves arranged
parallel to one another separated by gently
convex ridges about 34 mm wide. Structure
is up to 3.7 cm in length with 2.5 cm width.
Specimen is poorly preserved and possibly it
could have been a part of pygidium of a
trilobite.

4. Discussion and conclusion

1. Ten trace fossils and three informal forms are described from
the Nagaur Sandstone, the lower formation of the Nagaur Group.
These are:

D107
One slab of ne grained sandstone having two
specimens of scratch mark.
Parallel, straight to gently curved ridges
between 0.5 mm and 3.5 cm long.
These scratch marks are most probably
produced by a trilobite.

D107
One slab of ne grained sandstone containing
one specimen on the sole of the bed.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Rusophycus didymus Salter, 1856

Chondrites isp. Brongniart, 1828
Cruziana isp. dOrbigny, 1842
Isopodichnus isp. Bornemann, 1989
Dimorphichnus obliquus Seilacher, 1955
Monomorphichnus monolinearis Shah and Sudan, 1983
Diplichnites isp. Dawson, 1873
Skolithos isp. Haldeman, 1840
Palaeophycus tubularis Hall, 1847
Planolites isp. Nicholson, 1873
Trail
Scratch marks (?)
Ichnogenus A

Table 2
List of Lower Cambrian trace fossils in different Stratigraphic horizons in the Indian Subcontinent.
Age

Tal Formation, Lesser

Kumaun Himachal
Himalaya (Banerjee and
Narain, 1976; Singh and Rai,
1983; Bhargava, 1984;
Tiwari and Parcha, 2006)

Garbyang
Formation,
Tethys Himalaya
(Tandon and
Bhatia, 1978)

Kunzum-La
Formation, Tethys
Himalaya, Spiti Valley,
Himachal Pradesh
(Parcha et al., 2005)

Lolab Formation,
NW part of Kashmir
Himalaya (Shah and
Sudan, 1983;
Raina et al., 1983)

Magnesian
Sandstone,
Salt Range,
Pakistan
(Schindewolf and
Seilacher, 1955)

Nagaur Sandstone,
Marwar Supergroup
(Present study)

Lower Cambrian

Skolithos
Scolicia
Cylindrichnus
Plagiogmus
Halopoa
Phycodes
Aulichnites
Diplichnites
Taprhelminthopsis
Dimorphichnus
Monomorphichnus
Merostomichnites
Neonereites
Palaeophycus
Monocraterion
Astropolithon
Bifungites
Rosselia
Suzumites
Crossochorda
Curvolithus
Chondrites
Cruziana
Tasmanadia
Planolites
Protichnites
Trilobite traces
Scratch marks
Burrows

Isopodichnus
Rusophycus
Cruziana
Phycodes
Lavicyclus
Aulichnites
Teichichnus
Planolites
Gyrochorte
Scoyenia
Lennea
Scolicia
Zoophycos

Bergaueria
Cruziana
Chondrites
Diplichnites
Gordia
Gyrochorte
Helminthopsis
Monomorphichnus
Planolites
Phycodes
Rusophycus
Skolithos
Trichophycus
Taphrelminthopsis
Neonereites
Dimorphichnuss
Trilobite scratch marks

Monomorphichnus
Kupwaria
Phycodes
Daphrhelminthopsis
Bergaueria
Rusophycus
Planolites
Scratch marks

Rusophycus
Protichnites
Diplichnites
Crossochorda
Scolicia
Dimorphichnus
Laevicyclus
Bifungites

Rusophycus
Cruziana
Chondrites
Isopodichnus
Dimorphichnus
Monomorphichnus
Diplichnites
Skolithos
Planolites
Palaeophycus
Scratch marks (?)
Trails
Ichnogenus A

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S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

Earlier, the Marwar Supergroup was considered Cambrian in

spite of the fact that it never yielded any fossil which could suggest
age. Even the overlying Tunkilian Sandstone, the youngest lithounit of the Marwar Supergroup, has not yielded any fossil. Thus,
the suggested Cambrian age for the Nagaur Group was simply
speculative. The stromatolites were reported as early as 1964 by
Khilnani and Barman (1987) from the Bilara Group but none could
be used for suggesting age. In recent years, the age of the Marwar
Supergroup has been considered some where between Neoproterozoic and Cambrian (Mazumdar and Strauss, 2006). Very recently
Kumar and Pandey (2008) discovered Rusophycus, Dimorphichnus
and Cruziana trace fossils from the Nagaur Sandstone which gave
important clues for the suggested Lower Cambrian age to the Nagaur Sandstone. Jensen et al. (2005) have contended that typically
arthropod type trace fossils are not known from the Neoproterozo-

ic and Narbonne et al. (1987) have observed that bilobed forms

with characteristic scratch patterns (Rusophycus) rst appeared
some what above the currently dened base of the Cambrian in
Newfoundland, Canada. Out of the thirteen trace fossils at least
six must have been produced by the trilobites and/or arthropods
and two forms described informally can also be linked to the activity of trilobites. Thus, the Nagaur trace fossils more or less conrm
the presence of trilobites/arthropods at the time of the deposition
of the Nagaur Sandstone and can be correlated with those forms
reported from the Cambrian rocks from the different parts of the
world. The lowermost group of the Marwar Supergroup, the Jodhpur Group has been suggested Ediacaran age on the basis of the
presence of Arumberia, Beltanelliformis, Aspidella and cf. Hiemalora
(Kumar and Pandey, 2009; Kumar et al., 2009) and as it over lies
the Malani Igneous suite which has been dated as 780681 Ma

Fig. 3. Trace fossils of the Nagaur Sandstone, the Marwar Supergroup, Dulmera area, Rajasthan. (A) Rusophycus didymus (scale = 1.0 cm); (B) Rusophycus didymus
(scale = 1.0 cm); (C). Rusophycus didymus (scale = 1.0 cm); (D) Chondrites isp. (diameter of coin = 2.0 cm); (E) Cruziana isp. (diameter of coin = 2.3 cm); (F) Cruziana isp. (close
up view) (scale = 1.0 cm); (G) Isopodichnus isp. (scale = 1.0 cm); (H) Isopodichnus isp. (scale = 1.0 cm).

S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

(Rathore et al., 1999). Thus, the presence of Lower Cambrian trace

fossils in the Nagaur Group supports the possibility of PC/C boundary within the Bilara Group as suggested on the basis of carbon isotope data (Pandit et al., 2001; Mazumdar and Bhattacharya, 2004).
2. The Cambrian rocks are not recorded from the peninsular India except from the Nagaur Sandstone. Earlier record of PrecambrianCambrian boundary in the Rohtas Formation of the
Vindhyan Supergroup by Azmi (1998) on the basis of small shelly
fauna and brachiopod has been rejected (see Kumar, 2001). The
same boundary suggested in the Bhander Group by Friedmann
et al. (1996) and Friedmann and Chakraborty (1997) on the basis
of carbon isotope data has also been discarded (see Kumar, 1999,
2001). However, undisputed Lower Cambrian rocks are reported
from the Himalayas only, which can be grouped into two: from
the Lesser Himalaya and from the Tethys Himalya. From the Lesser
Kumaun Himalaya from the Tal Formation of Mussoorie and
Nainital areas (Uttarakhand), 26 ichnofossils have been described
(Table 2) (Banerjee and Narain, 1976; Singh and Rai, 1983;
Bhargava, 1984, and Tiwari and Parcha, 2006). Further north of
the Lesser Himalaya, in the Tethys Himalaya, the Cambrian depos-

83

its are represented by the Garbyang Formation, the Kunzum-La

Formation and the Lolab Formation of the Kumaun, Himachal
and Kashmir Himalaya respectively and all these formations show
excellent development of the Lower Cambrian trace fossils.
Banerjee et al. (1975) and Tandon and Bhatia (1978) have reported
thirteen trace fossils including Cruziana assemblage from the
Garbyang Formation (Table 2). Parcha et al. (2005) have reported
16 trace fossils from the lower Cambrian Kunzum-La Formation
of the Tethys Himalaya, exposed in the Spiti Valley, Himachal
Pradesh. From the northwestern part of the Kashmir Tethys
Himalaya from the Lolab Formation (Lower Cambrian), Shah and
Sudan (1983) and Raina et al. (1983) have reported seven trace
fossils including Rusophycus. Further west in Pakistan, in the Salt
Range, the Cambrian is well developed and the trace fossils have
been reported as early as 1955 by Schindewolf and Seilacher from
the Magnesian Sandstone (Lower Cambrian). Table 2 gives the list
of the trace fossils from the different Lower Cambrian horizons of
Indian subcontinent. Fig. 6 shows all the localities from where
the trace fossils have been reported from the Lower Cambrian formations of India and Pakistan and on this basis a map has been

Fig. 4. Trace fossils of the Nagaur Sandstone, the Marwar Supergroup Dulmera area, Rajasthan. (A) Dimorphichnus obliquus (scale = 1.0 cm). (B) Dimorphichnus obliquus
(scale = 1.0 cm). (C) Monomorphichnus monolinearis (scale 1.0 cm). (D) Monomorphichnus monolinearis (diameter of coin = 2.3 cm). (E) Diplichnites isp. (scale = 1.0 cm). (F)
Skolithos isp. (arrows mark burrows) (scale = 1.0 cm).

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S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

Fig. 5. Trace fossils of the Nagaur Sandstone, the Marwar Supergroup Dulmera area, Rajasthan. (A) Palaeophycus tubularis (arrows mark the trace fossils) (scale = 1.0 cm). (B)
Planolites isp. (arrow marks the trace fossils) (scale = 2.3 cm). (C) Field photograph of trail (arrow shows trail) (scale = 1.0 cm). (D) Field photograph of scratch marks (?) arrow
marks horizontal and parallel scratches (scale = 1.0 cm). (E) Scratch marks (?) (scale = 0.5 cm). (F) Ichnogenus A (scale = 1.0 cm).

prepared which shows a possible sea link between the different

depositional sites. These fossil occurrences can be grouped into
three; the Lower Cambrian of Tethys Himalaya, the Tal succession
of Lesser Himalaya and the Nagaur Group of western Rajasthan
including Salt Range of Pakistan. The opening of the sea was from
the western side and there was one arm which invaded the Lesser
Himalaya from the western side and this arm could reach up to the
Nainital area of the Kumaun Himalaya.

Acknowledgements

Fig. 6. Map showing Lower Cambrian trace fossil-bearing localities in the Indian
subcontinents. The stippled area shows possible sea links of the different fossil
localities during the Lower Cambrian.

The authors are thankful to Dr. A.K. Jauhri, Head Centre of Advanced Studies in Geology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow for
extending laboratory facilities and to Dr. Mukund Sharma for the
help during the course of investigation. The nancial assistance
from DST, New Delhi in the form a research project entitled Biozonation and correlation of Neoproterozoic Bhander Group, Central
India is thankfully acknowledged.

S. Kumar, S.K. Pandey / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 38 (2010) 7785

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