The Gangapur Formation is a geological formation in Telangana, India. The Gangapur formation is Early Cretaceous in age. It forms a part of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin and overlies the Jurassic Kota Formation. The outcrops near the Gangapur village was first described in 1881 as the Gangapur beds.King W. 1881. The geology of the Pranhita-Godavari Valley. Mem. Geol. Surv. India 18(3): 151-311. In 1969, the area was instituted as the Gangapur Formation. It was also determined that the Gangapur Formation extends from north of Nowgaon (Lat. 19°20’N; Long. 79°24’E) to the west of Gangapur (Lat. 19°16’N; Long. 79°26’E) and in the east up to Dharmaram and Paikasigudem.Kutty T. S. 1969. Some contributions to the stratigraphy of the Upper Gondwana Formations of the Pranhita-Godavari Valley, central India. J. geol. Soc. India. 10(1): 33-48. Fossils of plants have been found in large quantities in the formation.
Stratigraphy The Gangapur Formation was laid down sometime in the Early Cretaceous due to renewed rift activity. The rocks of the formation are composed of coarse ferruginous sandstone interrupted with pebble bands succeeded by an alternating sequence of sandstones and mudstones or silty mudstone. Both the Gangapur Formation and the Chikiala Formation overlie the Kota formation however their exact relationships are uncertain. This uncertainty is partly due to the lack of fossils from the Chikiala Formation. It is possible that the Gangapur Formation is older than the Chikiala FormationRaiverman V., Rao M. R. & Pal D. 1985. Stratigraphy and structure of the Pranhita-Godavari Graben. Petrol. Asia J. 8(2): 174-189.Lakshminarayana G. 1996. Stratigraphy and structural framework of the Gondwana sediments in the Pranhita-Godavari Valley, Andhra Pradesh. Gondwana Nine (1), Geol. Surv. India: 311- 330. or that they are both of the same age.Rudra D. K. 1982. Upper Gondwana stratigraphy and sedimentation in the Pranhita-Godavari valley, India. Quart. Jour. Geol. Min. Metall. Soc. India 54: 56-79.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269109738_GYMNOSPERM_FOSSILS_FROM_THE_GANGAPUR_FORMATION_EARLY_CRETACEOUS_OF_ADILABAD_DISTRICT_Gymnosperm_fossils_from_the_Gangapur_Formation_Early_Cretaceous_of_Adilabad_District_Telangana_India
Fossil content
Osteichthyes Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesCaturidaePrasad, G. V. R.; Manhas, Brijesh K. & Arratia, Gloria (2004). Elasmobranch and actinopterygian remains from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of India. In: Arratia G and Tintori A (eds) Mesozoic Fishes 3 - Systematics, Paleoenvironments and Biodiversity. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, pp 625-638.IndeterminateVPL/JU/KF/126-128, teethThe teeth are said to be Caturus-like.PalaeoniscidaeIndeterminateVPL/JU/KF/104-105, teethThe teeth are said to be Gyrolepis-like.
Megaflora Plant megafossils are common in the Gangapur Formation, dominated by the Coniferales.http://14.139.63.228:8080/pbrep/bitstream/123456789/978/1/PbV30N2_121.pdfRamakrishna H. & Muralidhar Rao G. 1986. Pterophyllum medlicottianum from the Gangapur Formation of Andhra Pradesh. Curr. Sci. 55(23): 1199-1200Ramakrishna H. & Muralidhar Rao G. 1991. Conites sripermaturensis from the Gangapur Formation, A. P. J. Swamy. Bot. Cl. 8(3&4): 113-114Muralidhar Rao G. & Ramakrishna H.1988. Torreyites sitholeyi, a new record from the Gangapur Formation of Andhra Pradesh. Curr. Sci. 57(4): 203-204Lakshminarayana G. & Kutumba Rao N. 1988. A note on the occurrence of Ptilophyllum fl ora from the Chintalapudi subbasin, Pranhita-Godavari Valley, Khammam District, Andhra Pradesh. J. geol. Soc. India 32(2): 137-142Sukh-Dev & Rajanikanth A. 1988. The Gangapur: fossil fl ora and stratigraphy. Geophytology 18(1): 1-27Rajanikanth A. 1996. Palaeobotany of Mesozoic Gondwana sediments of Pranhita-Godavari Basin. Gondwana Nine (1), Geol. Surv. India: 425-438 Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesTaeniopteris T. kutchensis Ralpet, Rampur and Peddavagu. Leaves. Cycad also known from the Bhuj Formation. T. spatulataRampur, Butarmal Nala and Peddavagu. LeavesCycad also known from the Rajmahal Traps.T. sp.Rampur, Nowgaon and Peddavagu. LeavesCycad similar to T.sp from Antarctica. CycaditesC.sp. Cycad.Ptilophyllum P. cutchense Rampur and Nowgaon. Leaves. Bennettitales. P. acutifolium Rampur and Peddavagu. Leaves. Bennettitales. Resembles P. acutifolium from the Raghavapuram Formation. P. rarinervisBose M. N. & Kasat M. L. 1972. The genus Ptilophyllum in India. Palaeobotanist 19(2): 115-145.https://eurekamag.com/research/006/869/006869186.php Butarmal Nala. Leaves. Bennettitales. Originally referred to as Otozamites rarinervis.Feistmantel O. 1879. The fossil fl ora of the Upper Gondwanas. Outliers on the Madras Coast. Mem. Geol. Surv. India, Palaeont. Indica, Ser.2, 1(4):191-224 cf. P. distans Butarmal Nala. Leaves. Bennettitales. Resembles P. distans. P. distans Butarmal Nala. Leaves. Bennettitales. ?Anomozamites ?A. sp Nowgaon. Leaves. Bennettitales. Harrisiophyllum H. lanceolatus Rampur. A gymnospermElatocladus E. confertus Ralpet, Rampur, Nowgaon, Butarmal Nala and Peddavagu. Leaves. Coniferales. Very common in the Gangapur Formation. E. sehoraensis Ralpet and Butarmal Nala. Leaves. Coniferales. Also known from the Jabalpur Formation. cf. E. bosei Ralpet and Butarmal Nala. Leaves. Coniferales. Comparable to E. bosei of the Jabalpur Formation. E. andhrensis Ralpet, Nowgaon and Peddavagu. Leaves. Coniferales. Specimens belonging to this species were also registered as E. confertus and E. heterophylla.Pal A. K., Datta P. M., Basu P. K., Shome S. & Ghosh S. C. 1988. Cone bearing shoots of Elatocladus Halle from Gangapur Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Andhra Pradesh, India. Curr. Sci. 57(3): 141-142. E. sp Nowgaon and Peddavagu. Leaves. Coniferales. E. kingianus Cave Temple. Leaves. Coniferales. Pagiophyllum P. marwarensis Rampur. Leaves. Coniferales. Also known from the Jabalpur Formation. P. rewaensis Peddavagu. Leaves. Coniferales. Also known from the Jabalpur Formation. ?Cladophlebis ?C. sp Peddavagu. Leaves. Fern. Gleichenia G. nordenskioildii Nowgaon. Leaves. Fern. ?Gleichenia G. sp Nowgaon. Leaves. Fern. Coniferocaulon C. sp. Peddavagu and quarry north of the Cave Temple. Leaves. Coniferales. Also known from the Jabalpur Formation.cf. C. rajmahalense
References