Early Permian macrofloral diversity in Indian Gondwana: Evidence from Talchir Formation of Singrauli coalfield, Son-Mahanadi valley basin, central India

The flora of Early Permian Talchir Formation is very significant as it holds evidence for the appearance of altogether new flora, the 'Glossopteris flora'. This study contributes to our current understanding of Talchir flora. It also reveals a poor diversity of macrofloral assemblage recorded from the Lower Permian sediments of non-coaliferous Talchir Formation from Singrauli coalfield, Son-Mahanadi valley basin. Recovered plant assemblage is characterised by the occurrence of mostly leaf forms namely, Cordaitales (Euryphyllum), Glossopteridales (Gangamopteris, Palaeovittaria and Cordaicarpus) and Coniferales (Paranocladus) along with stem casts/impressions. Flora is marked with the abundance of the genus Gangamopteris with five species, followed by genus Euryphyllum with four species. The present macroflora is broadly similar to other known contemporaneous floral records of India and other Gondwanan continents but the lack of the genus Noeggerathiopsis in the present assemblage makes it distinct. Genera Euryphyllum (E. elongatum, E. obovatum and E. whittianum) and Palaeovittaria (P. kurtzii) along with taxon Gangamopteris rajaensis, are being reported for the first time from the Talchir Formation of India. Based on the present macrofloral records, the studied sediments have been corroborated to be of Early Permian (Sakmarian) age when the climate was still cold.

Automated summary

The flora of the Early Permian Talchir Formation is significant as it provides evidence for the emergence of a new flora known as the 'Glossopteris flora'. This study contributes to our understanding of the Talchir flora and reveals a lack of diversity in the Lower Permian sediments of the non-coaliferous Talchir Formation in Singrauli coalfield, Son-Mahanadi valley basin. The recovered plant assemblage is characterized by the presence of mostly leaf forms, such as Cordaitales, Glossopteridales, and Coniferales, along with stem casts/impressions.