A vivid leaf fossil dating back to Gondwana era is the latest addition to the private collection of Coimbatore-based fossil collector A.R.K. Arun.
Picked up during a recent search at Gunduperumbedu in Kancheepuram, the Ptilophyllum fossil must be 400 million years old, he said. Explaining the clear lines of petiole and stalk of the leaf fossil, as it looks like a feather, Mr. Arun said that Ptilophyllum could be the forefather of present day Cycas Revoluta, a popular garden plant.
“It was after hours of search I came across this clear and pictorial Ptilophyllum fossil. The piece of rock seemed simple but the clear fossil of the lead came to me as a surprise as I sectioned it into two pieces,” said Mr. Arun who is fondly called as ‘Kallu’ (stone) among known circles.
He said that the area from where the fossil was picked up could have been a backwater or swampy land in the past. Presence of fossils is also considered as petroleum guider.
“Fossils of Glossopteris and Taeniopteris non-flowering plants are also found in Gunduperumbedu fossil bed. In Ariyalur, known as the land of mass mortality, fossils of marine invertebrates of Cretaceous period can be found. Thiruvakkarai is another site rich with fossils of Miocene era,” said Mr. Arun, whose collection primarily includes marine invertebrates fossils of Cretaceous system that started 136 million years ago and lasted 71 million years.
Mr. Arun’s collection of over 1,000 fossils, one of the largest among individual collectors in the country, includes rocks, minerals, gems, volcanic lava, meteorite and tectite. According to him, the youngest fossil in his collection is Dadoxylon, a tree fossil, which is 20 million years old.
K. Raju, Superintendent (Geology), Geological Survey of India Training Institute at Chitradurga, Bengaluru, said that several pockets of Kancheepuram are known for fossils of Taeniopteris and Ptilophyllum plant varieties dating back to Gondwana era.
At Gunduperumbedu, indeed these fossils were collected and safeguarded by the locals, who had termed them as `poo kal’ (flower stones). They use to sell them to the fossil collectors and botanists who arrive at this village in search of these sedimentary shale rock with plant fossils.
These rock pieces, some of them in pure white, some with pink markings could be seen strewn around in mounds all over the village, revenue department sources said.
( with inputs from V. Venkatasubramanian from Kancheepuram )
