What do the petrified woods of the Sriperumbudur Formation indicate?

Abstract

Of the several outcrops of Upper Gondwana exposures along the East Coast of the Indian Peninsula, the Sriperumbudur Formation near Chennai, Tamil Nadu has yielded many well-preserved petrified woods. Extensive anatomical studies were carried out on these woods during the past decade at Tambaram, Chennai. A study of these woods helped to understand the variation in the wood structure. Based on these woods, the diversity of the arborescent palaeoflora was traced in the region during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times. It has also been possible to interpret the climatic conditions that prevailed during the time of deposition through the study of the wood anatomy. The paper discusses some evolutionary trends indicated by the wood studies. A suggestion is made for the taxonomic revision of one of the woods.