First Report of Gangamopteris rajaensis from Rajmahal Gondwana Basin, Jharkhand, India

Abstract

The present study deals with the systematic description of macro and miofloral analysis of Gangamopteris rajaensis and Glossopteris indica from the carbonaceous shale-coal bearing sequences of the Rajmahal Open Cast Mine, Rajmahal Basin, Jharkhand, India. The floral diversity, age correlation, and the paleoenvironment of the Barakar Formation were well described. Morphological analysis revealed the reticulate venation pattern, anastomosing of veins, and the absence of the midrib in Gangamopteris rajaensis. The recovered megafloral assemblages of Gangamopteris rajaensis and Glossopteris indica suggest a late early Permian (Artiskian-Kungurian) age for the Barakar strata of Rajmahal coal mine and the prevalence of a moderately warm climate during their deposition. Earlier the species was reported from the Barakar Formation of Damodar and Mahanadi Gondwana basins in India. However, this is the first detailed systematic investigation of this species from the Rajmahal Gondwana Basin,