Paleoenvironmental significance of ichnofossils from the Mesozoic Jaisalmer Basin, Rajasthan, north western India

The Mesozoic rocks are well exposed in the Jaisalmer basin of the Indian Subcontinent. These sediments are classified into six formations as Lathi Formation, Jaisalmer Formation, Baisakhi Formation, Badasar Formation, Pariwar Formation and Habur Formation. The sediments are mainly represented by limestone, sandstone and shale. The sediments of the Jaisalmer Formation, the Baisakhi Formation, the Badasar Formation and the Pariwar Formation are examined for ichnological investigation and their significant role during the deposition of those sediments. The present paper documents seventeen ichnofossils such as Acanthorphaphe isp., Asteriacites isp., Cylindrichnus isp., Keckia annulata, Laevicyclus mongraensis, Ophiomorpha borneensis, O. nodosa, Paleomendron isp., Palaeophycus heberti, P. tubularis, Planolites annularis, P. berverlensis, P. montanus, Thalassinoides horizontalis, T. paradoxicus, T. suevicus, and Skolithos verticalis from the Mesozoic marine sediments of the Jaisalmer basin. The ichnofossil assemblage have proved major role for the paleonenvironmental interpretation of these sediments and accordingly depositional paleoenvironments of Jaisalmer Formation, the Baisakhi Formation, the Badasar Formation and the Pariwar Formation have been drawn.