Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
    • Series home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Current volume
    • All volumes
    • All collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • Access for GSL Fellows
    • Access for other member types
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
  • Alert sign up
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
  • Propose
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Follow gsl on Twitter
  • Visit gsl on Facebook
  • Visit gsl on Youtube
  • Visit gsl on Linkedin
Geological Society, London, Special Publications

Advanced search

  • Home
    • Series home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Current volume
    • All volumes
    • All collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • Access for GSL Fellows
    • Access for other member types
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
  • Alert sign up
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
  • Propose

Morphodiversity, complexity and macroevolution: revealed by the megascopic life of the Palaeo-Neoproterozoic Vindhyan Supergroup, India

Purnima Srivastava
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 365, 247-262, 1 January 2012, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP365.13
Purnima Srivastava
Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow, India (e-mail: )
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
PreviousNext
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Evidence of past life found in the Vindhyan Supergroup exhibits extensive diversity and taxonomically unresolved morphological complexities indicating varied biological affinities, advanced life and macroevolutionary dynamics of evolving clades. The megascopic life of the supergroup documents possibly two macroevolutionary modes, demarcated as: (i) the Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic transitional period, which is represented by the fossil assemblages of the Semri and Rewa groups, and exhibits the domination of a diversified prokaryotic cyanobacterial community and moderately diversified megascopic life; (ii) the Neoproterozoic (Bhander groups, Uppermost Vindhyans), represented by the diversified and morphologically complex megascopic eukaryotes, and the emergence of multicellularity among plant and animal clades, viz. structures resembling bryophytes, sporophyte and Ediacara fauna. The overall Vindhyan fossils exhibit episodes of adaptive innovations and the emergence of complex morphologies in separate lineages of evolutionary history, resulting in extensive morphodiversity.

The present assemblage can be represented by that of prokaryotes, eukaryotes, possibly a symbiotic association, a Jacutianema-like Neoproterozoic form, specimens possibly of vaucheriacean affinity, mesoscopic intermediate forms inferred as transitional forms of microscopic–megascopic evolution, discs with process-like structures, the emergence of animal life (Ediacaran fauna) and a number of other complex morphologies that have no parallels in time and space. Traditionally and conventionally, the age of the Vindhyan Supergroup is considered to be that of Palaeoproterozoic–Neoproterozoic.

  • © The Geological Society of London 2012
View Full Text

Please note that if you are logged into the Lyell Collection and attempt to access content that is outside of your subscription entitlement you will be presented with a new login screen. You have the option to pay to view this content if you choose. Please see the relevant links below for further assistance.

INDIVIDUALS

Log in using your username and password

– GSL fellows: log in with your Lyell username and password. (Please check your access entitlements at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/fellowsaccess)
– Other users: log in with the username and password you created when you registered. Help for other users is at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/lyellcollection_faqs
Forgot your username or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article for 24 hours and download the PDF within the access period. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one. To download the PDF, click the 'Purchased Content' link in the receipt email.

LIBRARY USERS

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.
If you think you should have access, please contact your librarian or email [email protected]

LIBRARIANS

Administer your subscription.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about the Lyell Collection publications website, please see the access help page or contact [email protected]

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this volume

Geological Society, London, Special Publications: 365 (1)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Volume 365
2012
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation tools

Morphodiversity, complexity and macroevolution: revealed by the megascopic life of the Palaeo-Neoproterozoic Vindhyan Supergroup, India

Purnima Srivastava
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 365, 247-262, 1 January 2012, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP365.13
Purnima Srivastava
Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow, India (e-mail: )
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Permissions
View PDF
Share

Morphodiversity, complexity and macroevolution: revealed by the megascopic life of the Palaeo-Neoproterozoic Vindhyan Supergroup, India

Purnima Srivastava
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 365, 247-262, 1 January 2012, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP365.13
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Email to

Thank you for sharing this Geological Society, London, Special Publications article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Morphodiversity, complexity and macroevolution: revealed by the megascopic life of the Palaeo-Neoproterozoic Vindhyan Supergroup, India
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Geological Society, London, Special Publications
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Geological Society, London, Special Publications.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
Download PPT
Bookmark this article
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Geological setting
    • Age
    • Megafossils from the Vindhyan Supergroup
    • Morphodiversity and complexity
    • Description of complex morphologies
    • Macroevolution
    • Discussion and conclusion
    • Acknowledgments
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Similar Articles

Cited By...

  • Most read
  • Most cited
Loading
  • The history of the European oil and gas industry (1600s–2000s)
  • Himalayan earthquakes: a review of historical seismicity and early 21st century slip potential
  • Introduction to Himalayan tectonics: a modern synthesis
  • Seismic characterization of carbonate platforms and reservoirs: an introduction and review
  • An introduction to forensic soil science and forensic geology: a synthesis
More...

Special Publications

  • About the series
  • Books Editorial Committee
  • Submit a book proposal
  • Author information
  • Supplementary Publications
  • Subscribe
  • Pay per view
  • Copyright & Permissions
  • Activate Online Subscription
  • Feedback
  • Help

Lyell Collection

  • About the Lyell Collection
  • Lyell Collection homepage
  • Collections
  • Open Access Collection
  • Open Access Policy
  • Lyell Collection access help
  • Recommend to your Library
  • Lyell Collection Sponsors
  • MARC records
  • Digital preservation
  • Developing countries
  • Geofacets
  • Manage your account
  • Cookies

The Geological Society

  • About the Society
  • Join the Society
  • Benefits for Members
  • Online Bookshop
  • Publishing policies
  • Awards, Grants & Bursaries
  • Education & Careers
  • Events
  • Geoscientist Online
  • Library & Information Services
  • Policy & Media
  • Society blog
  • Contact the Society

Published by The Geological Society of London, registered charity number 210161

Print ISSN 
0305-8719
Online ISSN 
2041-4927

Copyright © 2022 Geological Society of London