Late Pennsylvanian and Early Cisuralian palynofloras from the Rajmahal Basin, eastern India, and their chronological significance

KAVALI, PAULINE SABINA; DI PASQUO, MERCEDES; MURTHY, SRIKANTA; CHAKRABORTI, BHASKAR

Historical Biology

Taylor and Francis

Lugar: London; Año: 2018 p. 1 - 17

0891-2963

This work documents for the first time a palynological assemblage in the Rajmahal Basin, tentativelyconsidered probable youngest Late Pennsylvanian assemblage, which was hitherto considered earlyPermian. The palynocomposition consists of 39 species (5 spores, 25 monosaccate, 5 bisaccate- 3 nonstriate and 2 striate grains, scarce Navifusa sp., scolecodont, algae and fungal hyphae). Two assemblagesare described based on the first appearance of taxa, Assemblage I (608.90?599.00 m) dominated bymonosaccates and absence of bisaccates and spores. Assemblage II (592.0?590.80 m) also dominatedby monosaccates but with the inception of spores, bisaccates and marine palynomorphs. TheAssemblage I is correlated to the oldest Potonieisporites neglectus Assemblage Zone of Tiwari andTripathi based on their similarities and the absence of species recorded in the Assemblage II which iscorrelated to their overlying Plicatipollenites gondwanensis Assemblage Zone. Palynoassemblages similarto the Assemblage I, radiometrically constrained to the Late Pennsylvanian across Gondwana, alongwith the lack of diagnostic Permian pollen grains as well as marine Eurydesma fauna and terrestrialglossopterids, tentatively support an older age at least for the lower interval of the Talchir Formation.The latter fossils associated to Assemblage II confirm an early Permian age.