title: Record of Lower Gondwana megafloral assemblage from Lower Kamthi Formation of Ib River Coalfield, Orissa, India.
abstract: Recent investigations carried out in the Ib River Coalfield, Mahanadi Master Basin, Orissa, identified some fossilif-erous beds in the Lower Gondwana deposits. Two exposures of the Lower Kamthi Formation yielded diverse and abundant plant remains, which include Neomariopteris, Vertebraria, and a scale leaf along with 14 Glossopteris species otherwise mapped as Barren Measures and Upper Kamthi formations. Glossopteris indica dominates the flora (22.78%) followed by G. communis (17.72%) and G. browniana (13.92%). Based on megafloral assemblages, different beds exposed at Gopalpur and Laxamanpur Pahar are assigned here to the Lower Kamthi Formation (Late Permian). The floristic composition suggests that a warm and humid climate prevailed during the Late Permian. The status of the Kamthi Formation in the Ib River Coalfield has been redefined in the present study.
authors.affiliation: PG Department of Environmental Science, Fakir Mohan University, Vyasa Vihar, Balasore, India. goswamishreerup@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Shreerup
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goswami
mesh_terms: D003031:Coal; D017753:Ecosystem; D005580:Fossils; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D007194:India; D010944:Plants
chemical_list: D003031:Coal