GEOLOGY AND VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY STUDY IN SAGULING AREA AND SURROUNDING, WEST BANDUNG REGENCY, WEST JAVA

• Main Author: Cahyo Seto, Dioptri
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/69686
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Saguling Reservoir and its surroundings is a valley area surrounded by hills that were formed during the Quaternary age. Although it is part of the edge of the Bandung Basin, there is few study of geology in this area. Not long ago, vertebrate fossils were found on Sirtwo Island, a small island located in the middle of the Saguling Reservoir. The abundance and diversity of fossils found in the Saguling Reservoir is a new record in this region, and its relation to the geological context is important to study. Focus of this research is to determine the geological conditions in the form of geomorphology and stratigraphy of the study area and to conduct a vertebrate paleontology study to increase the diversity of fossils data in the research area. Based on the geological conditions and fossil data, an interpretation of the paleoenvironment is then carried out. This research includes field data collection in the form of lithology and fossils. Lithological data is used to determine geological conditions by outcrop observation method and fossil data is processed using morphological and anatomical description methods, NISP (Number of Identified Specimens), and biostratigraphic analysis to determine age and paleoenvironment. The research area consist of Sandstone 1 Unit, Breccia Unit, Sandstone 2 Unit, and Tuff – Breccia Unit. The fossils present in the study area are found in Sandstone 2 Unit. Total fossils studied are 96 fossils consisting of 27 Bovidae fossils, 13 Cervidae fossils, 3 Elephantidae fossils, and 53 fossils could not be indentified. The types of fauna fossils found were quite diverse, including Bos javanicus, , Bubalus bubalis, Rusa unicolor, Axis axis, Muntiactus muntjak, and Elephas maximus. From the number of fossils, the NISP value for the Bovidae group was 62.8%. (n = 27), Cervidae 30,2% (n = 13), and Elephantidae group 7% (n = 3). From these geological and paleontological studies, it is interpreted that the fossils in the study area equal to the Cipeundeuy fauna group of Late Pleistocene age. The paleoenvironment conditions in the study area are interpreted as open woodland with waters gained from the diversity of existing fossils.