Plant microfossils from a Jurassic shale of Salt Range, West Punjab (Pakistan)

Abstract

The paper describes a rich variety of microfossils obtained by maceration from the variegated shale of the Salt Range. The microflora includes several kinds of spores, both winged and unwinged; few megaspore-like bodies; fragments of wood; and several cuticular pieces. The spores are mostly pteridophytic and coniferous, the cycadophytic grains being rare. Among the large number of cuticles considerable proportion are of the Bradyphyllum and Pagiophyllum type, indicating that coniferales were strongly represented in the flora. Others with sinuous epidermal cells and syndetocheil type of stomata, suggesting a Bennettitalean affinity, are least represented. The spores and pollen grains are described under Naumova's (1937) artificial system. New subgroups have been proposed for spores and pollen grains which do not fit in any of the known subgroups. The microflora as a whole suggests a middle Jurassic age for the variegated shale.