Plant diversity in the Kamthi Formation of India: A Review

Abstract

Plant megafossils recorded from the Kamthi Formation of India have been assessed in the present communication. The formation is mainly exposed in the Mahanadi, Godavari and Wardha basins and has been critically analysed on the basis of its megafloral and palynological contents, and the lithological aspects by earlier workers who variously assigned its age as late Permian, early and late Triassic. An endeavour has been made here to compile all the known plant fossil records from the Kamthi Formation for better understanding of its floral and biostratigraphical significance. Known records of the plant megafossils from the Kamthi Formation reveal dominance of the Glossopteris flora and paucity of the Dicroidium floral elements suggesting a transition between late Permian and early Triassic.