Putative ichnogenus Paralanicichnites Ghare and Badve 1981 from the Palaeogene of the Kachchh Basin (India) is a coral

Abstract

Structures, reported as the trace fossil, Paralanicichnites conflueris, were described from the Palaeogene rocks of the Kachchh (Kutch) District, Gujarat State, India, by Ghare and Badve as a new ichnogenus and ichnospecies. Restudy of the type specimens revealed that the form described as a burrow in fact is a scleractinian coral, as evidenced by its phaceloid morphology, septate calcareous exoskeleton, and twelve primary septa. It appears there is also confusion regarding the exact geological formation, from which the specimens under consideration were taken by the original authors, as well as the age assigned by them.