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Palaeontology

By Dr. Gaurav Kumar Singh   |   Dr. H. S. Gour University, Sagar
Learners enrolled: 130

The objective of the present course is to give an overview of the general geological set up of the Indian subcontinent embracing all its components form Precambrian to Phanerozoic eons. In addition, physiogrpahy of India is also covered along with general principles of stratigraphy. Another major rationale is to introduce the elements of Palaeontology starting from general aspects to the morphologies of many invertebrate groups; evolution of horse is mainly covered for vertebrate Palaeontology. It is important to point out here that at undergraduate level, the entire aspects of neither Palaeontology nor Stratigraphy can be covered; however; only general idea can be given which have been tried in this course.  

Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 16 weeks
Category :
  • Earth Sciences
Credit Points : 4
Level : Undergraduate
Start Date : 14 Jul 2025
End Date : 31 Oct 2025
Exam Date :
NCrF Level   : 6.0

Page Visits



Course layout

WEEK 1
DAY 1 Introduction to Stratigraphy and Geological Time Scale
DAY 2 Physical and Structural subdivisions of India
DAY 3 Schist Belts of Dharwar
DAY 4 Cuddapah Super Group of Rocks
DAY 5 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test 

WEEK 2 
DAY 1 Vindhyan Supergroup
DAY 2 Stratigraphy of Delhi Supergroup
DAY 3 Dynamics of Earth
DAY 4 Palaeozoic of NW Himalaya
DAY 5 Triassic of Spiti 
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test 

WEEK 3 
DAY 1 Mesozoic type section of Kutch and Rajasthan
DAY 2 stream and drainage development 
DAY 3 Cretaceous of Trichinopoly
DAY 4 Study of Gondwana Super Group
DAY 5 Deccan Trap
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test 

WEEK 4 
DAY 1 Origin of oceans
DAY 2 Palaeogene succession of India
DAY 3 Neogene succession of India
DAY 4 Basic idea of Palaeontology, Evolution and Origin of life
DAY 5 Unconformity and its type
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test 

WEEK 5 
DAY 1 Identification of fossils and Codes of Systematic Nomenclature
DAY 2 Preservation Potential of Organisms and Morphology of Gastropoda
DAY 3 Applications of Palaeontological data in Palaeoecology and a brief idea of Palaeogeography
DAY 4 Rock sample
DAY 5 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test 
WEEK 6 
DAY 1 Morphology and Geological Distribution of Brachiopoda
DAY 2 Geological distribution of Pelecypods
DAY 3 Cephalopoda
DAY 4 Earthquake
DAY 5 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test

WEEK  7
DAY 1 Trilobites
DAY 2 Echinoderms
DAY 3 Evolutionary history of Horse
DAY 4 Paaeomagnetism
DAY 5 A brief study of Plant Fossils
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test

WEEK 8 
DAY 1 Type localities of Gondwana succession and.....
DAY 2 Basic Principles of Palaeoenvironment and Palaeoclimate Analysis
DAY 3 Depositional Environment 
DAY 4 The elements of sequence Stratigraphy-I
DAY 5 The elements of sequence Stratigraphy-II
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test

WEEK 9 
DAY 1 Introduction to microfossils
DAY 2 Coral Reef
DAY 3 Stratigraphic corelation
DAY 4 Evolution and Stratigraphy Part 01
DAY 5 Evolution and Stratigraphy-II
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test

WEEK 10 
DAY 1 Unconformities
DAY 2 CARRIER IN GEOLOGY
DAY 3 Guides and Criteria for Locating Ore Deposits
DAY 4 Distribution of some fossil groups 
DAY 5 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test

WEEK 11 
DAY 1 Life Through Ages
DAY 2 Study of Aravalli Group
DAY 3 Physiographic Divisions of India
DAY 4 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test

WEEK 12 
DAY 1 A Brief idea about Vertebrate Fossils Part-1 
DAY 2 A Brief idea about Vertebrate Fossils Part-2 
DAY 3 Earths History Ontogeny and variation in fossil assemblages
DAY 4 Earths History Ontogeny and ....
DAY 5 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test


WEEK 13 
DAY 1 Morphology and Distribution of Anthozoa 
DAY 2 Morphology and Distribution of Arthropoda
DAY 3 Palaeozoic of NW Himalaya
DAY 4 Origin of sediments
DAY 5 Cretaceous of Trichinopoly
DAY 6 Self Reading Material, Assignment Week 01, Weekly Test


WEEK 14 
DAY 1 Identification of fossils and Codes of Systematic Nomenclature
DAY 2 Introduction to microfossils
DAY 3 
DAY 4 
DAY 5 

Books and references

1. Kathal, P K (2012) Applied Geological Micropaleontology Scientific Publ., New Delhi, 203p.
2. Kathal, P. K. (1998) Applications of Microfossils CBS Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, 198p.
3. Woods, H. (1963) Palaeontology Invertebrate CBS Pub. & Dist., (Low Price Edition) New Delhi. P. 
4. Black, Rhona M. (1989) Elements of paleontology 2nd Ed. Cambridge University Press.

Instructor bio

Dr. Gaurav Kumar Singh has worked as a geologist in the Geological Survey of India from 2011-2013. His research work mainly comprises Stratigraphy and Palynology of Palaeozoic of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh. He is especially interested in the study of Precambrian rocks of Central India. Dr. Singh is presently working as a Geology faculty of central university in Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, India.

Educational Qualifications:
2008-2013 Ph.D. Geology (Awarded in 2013)
University of Lucknow and Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

2009    Joint CSIR-UGC NET-JRF

2006-2008 Masters in Geology (Post Graduation)
University of Lucknow
Gold Medal and Distinction

2003-2006 B.Sc. in Geology (Graduation)University of Lucknow

EXPERIENCE:
May 2012 – 10th December, 2013 Geologist, Geological Survey of India, SU: Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India.

Oct. 2011- May 2012                Geologist, GSITI, GSI, Hyderabad, India.

AUG. 2010 - OCT2011                     Senior Research Fellow (Birbal Sahni Research Scholarship, BSRS)
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road,           Lucknow.

AUG. 2008 –10                          Junior Research Fellow (Birbal Sahni Research Scholarship, BSRS)
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road,    Lucknow


Awards and Honors:
First Division right from school to post graduate level.
Awarded M.R.Sahni memorial Gold medal in Palaeontology by Palaeontological Society of India, Sept. 2008.
Awarded Birbal Sahni Research Scholarship, BSRS by Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in 2008.
Qualified National Eligibility Test (JRF-NET) securing 27th rank for Lectureship, June 2009.
Successfully completed 35th OCG at Geological Survey of India (GSI).

Experimental skills:
Strong background on maceration techniques used for the extraction of microfossils from silicate and carbonate sediments.
Sound knowledge of the morphological details implied for the taxonomy of various fossil groups
Experienced with the palynofacies and organic matter studies.
Training programme on Late Cenozoic Dinoflagellate cyst by Prof. Martin Head in February 2011 at Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow. 
Mapping of deformed terrane and unconformity in Bundelkhand region.

Experience in Field Campaigns: 
Carried out two fieldworks in the Spiti Valley, Tethys Himalaya on Carboniferous and Permian sedimentary succession, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010.
Carried out fieldwork in Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, 2008.
Carried out fieldwork in Kinnaur and adjoining areas, 2009.
Carried out fieldwork in Solan and adjoining areas, 2009.
Fieldwork in Chiradurga, Kochi, Salem, Bhimtal, Sukinda and Kothagudem as part of 35th OCG.
Fieldwork in the toposheet no. 49M/13 as a part of FSP 2012-13 (GCM/SR/KRL/2012/040).

Organizational Skills
Managing, maintaining and operating ultra-clean laboratory facilities for maceration of the sedimentary rocks for microfossils, organic matter studies, and morphology of the various fossil groups.

Specialized Training
Attended a training programme on sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy from 26-31 October 2009 at Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow. 
Attended Geological field training programme (Solan and adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh) organized by Palaeontological Society of India and Centre of advanced Studies in Geology, University of Lucknow.


Research Publications:

Kamaljeet Singh, Shreerup Goswami and Gaurav Singh (2011). Palaeodiversity in the genus Glossopteris from the lower Gondwana rocks of the Korba Coal field of the Chhatisgarh India. Palaeontological Society of India. Vol 56 (1), pp. 61-80. 

Kamlesh Kumar, Sankar Chatterjee, Rajni Tewari, Naresh C. Mehrotra and Gaurav Kumar Singh (2012). Petrographic evidence as an indicator of volcanic forest fire from theTriassic of Allan Hills, South Victoria Land, Antarctica. Vol 104 (4), pp. 422-424.

Gaurav K. Singh, Ashish, K. Rai and Arvind K. Singh (2023).  Diagenesis, facies and palaeocurrent analysis of Upper Rewa Sandstone around Sagar, Central India. Vol 12 (4), pp. 546-563.


Abstracts

Singh G, Jha N, Mehrotra N.C. (2011). An algal bloom (green algae of zygnematalean affinity) from the Gechang Formation (Lower Permian) of Spiti Basin, NW Himalaya, India. XVII International Congress on the Carboniferous and Permian in the University of Western Australia, Perth.

Conferences & Seminars Attended:
International Conferences:
Participated in Geo India, International Conference held on17-19 September 2008, at Expo XXI, Greater Noida.

Participated in Industry-Academia programme of Geo India 2011 from 12-14 Jan. 2011.

National Conference:
Participated in conference Plant life through the ages held on 16-17, November 2008 at Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow.
Association with Research Projects/Proposals:
Hydrocarbon exploration in Spiti Valley DST, 2008-2011. 
Geochemical mapping in Toposheet no. 49M/13 in Kozhikode, Waynad and Kannur District, Kerala (FSP 2012-13, Item no. GCM/SR/KRL/2012/040).

Course certificate

CERTIFICATE
- Internal Assessment- Weekly assessments released in the course shall be considered for Internal Marks and will carry 30 percent for the Overall Result. Out of all weekly assignments, the best/top five scores will be considered for the final Internal Assessment marks.
- End-term Assessment - The final exam shall be conducted by NTA, and will carry 70 percent for the overall Result.
- All students who obtain 40% marks in the internal assessment and 40% marks in the end-term proctored exam separately will be eligible for the SWAYAM Credit Certificate.


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