MICROPALEONTOLOGY

AND ITS APPLICATION

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY
BY ABHISHEK MAURYA
M.Sc. Sem 3
MICROPALAEONTOLOGY

Micropaleontology is a branch of palaeontology that concern with

microfossils.

Foundation of micropalaeontology was laid down by ALCID

D’ORBIGNY
 PALAEONTOLOGY

FOSSILS

MEGAFOSSILS MICROFOSSILS
 MICROFOSSILS

Microfossils are those which can be studied and identified only by their study under microscope.

However parts of shell, bone of larger animal or wood fossil are often studied under microscope for
detailed study , but they don’t constitute microfossils.
 • Microfossils include skeleton of individual microorganism like Foraminifera, Radiolaria,
ostracods, diatoms and discrete microscopic elements of some larger organism such as spicules
of sponge and conodonts.

• Spores and pollens of flowering and non flowering plants are also microfossils in this sense but
they are studied in a separate branch PALYNOLOGY.
CLASSIFICATION OF MICROFOSSILS

Microscopic organism

Microscopic part of mega organism

Microfossils of unknown affinity

 MICROSCOPIC ORGANISM

• MONERA – include single celled prokaryotic organism

1. Cyanobacteria (blue green algae)
2. Bacteria
• PROTISTA – include single celled eukaryotic organism
Dinoflagellates, Silico flagellates, Diatoms ,coccolithophores , Radiolaria and foraminifera
• Microscopic arthropods- Ostracods
• Microscopic part of annelids- Scolecodonts

CONODONTS are microfossil of uncertain affinities.

 BACTERIA

• Microscopic single celled prokaryots

• Occurs singly or in aggregates
• No nucleus
• Found in oil shale, iron ore deposit, limestone and chert
deposits from earlier Precambrian rock
 CYANOBACTERIA

• Rounded to cylindrical cells upto 25 micron in diameter

• They are photosynthetic and aquatic
• Often called “blue green algae”
• Among the most ancient oganism dating back 3.5 to 2.5by
• Involved in formation of stromatolites.
 DINOFLAGELLATES

• Minute planktonic organism

• Flagellate algae
• Possess thick spiny cell wall consisting of organic matter divided
into furrows by angular plates.
• Lived in upper 50 meters of photic zone.
• Some genera bloom in vast number to form red tide.
• Range from Silurian to present and occurs mainly in clays and
shales.
SILICOFLAGELLATES

• Microscopic, marine, planktonic flagellate algal organism

• Skeleton composed of hollow bars of siliceous materials.
• Ranges from early cretaceous to present.
 DIATOMS

• Microscopic siliceous algae

• Posses siliceous discoidal elliptical , rectangular or rhombic
shaped skeleton
• Found in all latitude in ocean.
• Diatomaceous earth is used in industry as a filtering medium.
COCCOLITHOPHORES

• Pelagic, marine nano planktonic unicellular and flagellate algal

organism.
• Lived in photic zone.
• Spherical cell walls are covered with minute calcareous (sometime
aragonite) plates.
• Common in late Jurassic limestone and marls
• Ranges from Jurassic to present.
 FORAMINIFERA

• Foraminifer posses test or shells of varying sizes .01 to 190mm in diameter

• May be arenaceous, gelatinous, Agglutinated, siliceous, chitinous or
calcareous.
• Shells are uni chambered or multichambered
• Posses pores or perforation through which pseudopodia come out
• Because of these pores known as foraminifers.
 RADIOLARIA

• Pelagic marine protozoans occurring abundantly in present

oceans
• Most are small about 0.1 to 0.5 in diameter,
• Shape is spherical or conical with radiating filiform
pseudopodia.
• Skeleton composed of strontium sulphate.
• Lived in all seas and in all climate so very wide geographical
range.
• Hence their stratigraphic value is very limited.
 OSTROCODS

• Ostracods are microscopic mostly marine invertebrates of

phylum arthopoda.
• They bear a bivalved calcareous carapace (enclosing the
soft part), hinged along the dorsal margin.
• Carapace mostly are ovate shaped or reniform
 CONODONTS

• Microfossil of uncertain biological affinity

• Most palaeontologist believe that they are some sort of dental
structure associated with some animal.
• Colour is typically brown with sometimes a glossy lustre.
• Common within marine Ordovician Permian rock.
 SCOLECODONTS

• Pharyngeal jaws of annelid worms.

• Jaaws are definitely oriented and are chitinous and black in colour.
• Important guide fossil of Ordovician Silurian and Devonian.
 ADVANTAGES/APPLICATION OF STUDYING
MICROPALAEONTOLOGY
1. Age determination of sediments.
2. Correlation of fossiliferous beds occurring at different localities
3. Provide information about the environmental condition of that time
4. Helps in reconstructing the evolutionary history of past organism.
5. Helpful in evaluation of condition in which petroleum deposits formed.
 WHY MICROFOSSILS?

1. Abundance
2. Widespread occurrence
3. Uniforms distribution in sediments.
4. Occurrence within all type of rocks.
 REFERENCE

Palaeontology by Dr. P.C. Jain and Dr. anantharaman

An introduction to palaeontology by Amaldas gupta.
THANK YOU