During the next decade he published numerous significant papers concerning such essentially tropical families as the Araceae, Clusiaceae, Menispermaceae, Mimosaceae and Sonnera tiaceae [see Palynos 8(2): 7, Dec 1985].

In 1983 he convened a workshop for French and Indian palynologists in Pondicherry[1] with the goal of clarifying the taxonomy of angiosperm pollen previously described from tertiary horizons of tropical Africa and India.

In recognition of his contributions in the fields of botany, palynology and paleoenvironmental studies, Dr. Thanikaimoni was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.

In Puducherry, he advised the government on matters pertaining to the protection of the coastline, rehabilitation of arid areas and the impact of human development on the local ecosystem.

Thani was instrumental in focusing attention to the tremendous ecological role that the mangrove ecosystem played in protecting coastlines from tidal waves (tsunami) and land erosion.

He had been invited to present a lecture at a symposium on marine palynology, as a part of the UNESCO-sponsored Second International Conference on Paleo-oceanography that was held 6–12 September at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, USA.