Pteridophytes from Lower Gondwana formations of the Ib River Coalfield, Orissa and their diversity and distribution in the Permian of India

Recent extensive investigations carried out in the Ib River Coalfield, Mahanadi Master Basin, Orissa, identified numerous fossiliferous beds in the lower Gondwana deposits. Six exposures of the Barakar and lower Kamthi formations yielded diverse and abundant plant remains. The flora includes twenty-three genera representing nine groups viz., Lycopodiales, Equisetales, Sphenophyllales, Filicales, Cordaitales, Coniferales, Ginkgoales, Cycadales and Glossopteridales. Systematic descriptions of the pteridophyte taxa namely Cyclodendron (Lycopodiales), Schizoneura, Raniganjia, Bengalia, equisetaceous stems (Equisetales), Trizygia, Benlightfootia (Sphenophyllales), Neomariopteris, and Dichotomopteris (Filicales) are presented in this paper. Pteridophytic leaves comprising nine taxa viz., Cyclodendron leslii, Schizoneura gondwanensis, Raniganjia bengalensis, Bengalia raniganjensis, Trizygia speciosa, Benlightfootia indica, Neomariopteris hughesii, N. talchirensis, and Dichotomopteris sp. together with equisetaceous stems constitute about 7.88% (72 specimens) of the total plant assemblage collected from this coalfield. Among the pteridophytes, equisetaceous stems are most abundant (40.3%; 29 specimens) followed by Schizoneura gondwanensis (20.8%, 15 specimens) and Trizygia speciosa (13.9%, 10 specimens). A summary of the known diversity of pteridophytes in the Indian Permian as a whole is provided. Barakar Formation exposures have been assigned to a lower and upper series based on possession of different floristic assemblages. Pteridophytes do not occur in the lower series. On this basis the beds of Lajkura, Jurabaga collieries, Ratanpur Fireclay Quarry and the locality near Belpahar Railway Station with pteridophyte fossils are assigned to the upper Barakar Formation (late Artinskian). Based on assemblages containing different pteridophytes, beds exposed at Sitaram and Dungri Pahar are assigned to the lower Kamthi Formation (Lopingian). The floristic composition suggests a palaeoclimatic shift from temperate warm moist to warm dry conditions during the late Artinskian and warm and humid during Lopingian. The Permian pteridophytes grew in semi-aquatic conditions, i.e. in marshy places around small ponds, lakes and river-banks. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.