Abstract
Fossil scleractinian corals from India are poorly known. Detailed studies are concerned mainly with the Middle Jurassic, less is known about Cretaceous corals. The first detailed research was performed by Stoliczka (1873). Ferdinad Stoliczka (1838-1874) was a Moravian geologist and palaeontologist. His untimely death in Ladakh finished his extremely productive research lifecarried out in India since 1862 (Geological Survey of India, Kolkata). His palaeontological studies were focused on the Cretaceous fossils from SE India. Results were published in Palaeontologia
Indica (1864-1873; four volumes, nearly 1500 pages, 178 plates) and concerned with various fossil groups: cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, echinoderms, corals and other fossils.
Stoliczka (1873) described about 70 coral species, most of them were newly described species and one new genus. Coral samples were collected in 18 localities, between Pondicherry and
Tiruchchirapalli (Tamil Nadu state), most of which are now identified (Alundalippur, Andhur, Karai,
Karambiyam, Kulathur, Maravattur, Odiyum, Ootathur, Parali, Niniyur, Varagur, Valudavur) and some unidentified (Cooticaud, Koloture, Kullay, Penangoor, Velaghoor,). Albian-Cenomanian sediments in this area belong, according to recent lithostratigraphy, to the Uttatur Group, Trichinopoly
Group and Ariyalur Group. Some corals were from Santonian-Maastrichtian deposits from
Pondicherrry (Ariyalur Group).
Most of the new species distinguished by F. Stoliczka are still valid, but most of them are attributed to other genera. Some species are synonyms or still require revision. Based on recent taxonomic papers (e.g., Löser 2002) these corals can be preliminary attributed to the following genera of colonial scleractinians: Actinastrea, Astraeofungia, Complexastrea, Cryptocoenia, Dimorphastraeopsis, Eocolumastrea, Eugyra, Heliastrea, Holocoenia (including H. indica Stoliczka, 1873), Isastrea, Latomeandra, Mesomorpha, Microphyllia, Placastrea, Placosmilia, Preverastraea, Turbinolia,
Thamnasteria, Thecosmilia, Stelidioseris, Thecoseris, solitary forms: Balanophyllia, Caryophyllia,
Cyclolites Eupsammia, Platycyathus, Plesiocunnolites, Rennensismilia, Trochocyathus, and two octocorals: Heliopora, Polytremacis.
Löser and Mohanti (2004) described six coral species from the Cenomanian carbonate-siliciclastic sediments of the Karai Formation of the Uttatur Group. These authors did not recognize relationships with corals described by F. Stoliczka, which they attributed to differences in the facies.
In 2023, the first author of this presentation collected samples of colonial and solitary corals and coral-bearing limestones in five localities in a similar area as the research area of F. Stoliczka. They were collected mainly in Kallakkudi and Kovandankurichchi quarries (Dalmiapuram), but also from
Alundalippur, Maravattur and Kunnam. Coral-bearing limestones (not reefal boudstones), mostly bioclastic packstones with quartz, belong to the Albian-Cenomanian Dalmiapuram Formation of the Uttatur Group (Kallakkudi, Kovandankurichchi, Maravattur) and to the upper Turonian-lower
Coniacian Garudmangalam Formation of the Trichinopoly Group (Alundalippur, Kunnam). These limestones were described in the literature as the coral-algal or coralline limestones, but in the studied samples coralline red algae are very rare. Field research will continue.