Distribution of foraminifera in the lagoons of certain Islands of the Lakshadweep Archipelago, Arabian Sea

Abstract

A total of 107 foraminiferal species belonging to 29 families and 48 genera have been identified from the lagoonal sediments of Agatti, Kavaratti, Suhelipar, and Minicoy atolls of Lakshadweep. The fauna is dominated by calcareous Foraminifera, but arenaceous forms are very rare due to coarse nature of the deposits. Of the families observed, Miliolidae, Calcarinidae, and Amphisteginidae are most abundant and 2 species, Calcarina calcar and Amphistegina radiata are the most dominant. Planktonic Foraminifera are very rare and those few present in the lagoons have been transported by water currents through passages of the reef. In general, Foraminifera of the coral reefs in the coastal waters of Indian peninsula are similar in their species composition. Larger foraminiferids and typical coral-reef species of the fauna from Lakshadweep have been reported. The role of Foraminifera as reef-builders and their distribution as related to ecology are evaluated. The data suggest that there is a similarity of the reef faunas from tropical Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans