Neoproterozoic sponge spicules and organic-walled microfossils from the Gangolihat Dolomite, Lesser Himalaya, India

Isolated hexactinellid and monaxon sponge spicules with cyanobacterial filaments have been discovered in the Gangolihat Dolomite. The microfossils described were recovered in the thin sections of cherty dolomite and phyllite. Comparable sponge spicules are reported so far from lower Vendian sediments; therefore an early Vendian age can be suggested for the Gangolihat Dolomite. The main purpose of this communication is to document the presence of sponge spicules and silica biomineralization during the sedimentation of Gangolihat Dolomite in the Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, India.