Palaeobotany of Tattitola bed in Pachwara Coalfield, Santhal Pargana, Bihar with remarks on the age of the bed

Abstract

Fossil plants and miospores from the Lower Gondwana Bed exposed in the Bansloi River near the village Tattitola, Pachwara Coalfield are recorded. The megafossil assemblage is characterized by the dominance of open mesh Glossopteris leaves alongwith the characteristic presence of Schizoneura gondwanensis, Stellotheca robusta and other Lower Gondwana ferns. The miospore assemblage shows a dominance of striated-disaccate forms alongwith Scheuringipollenites, Densipollenites and other trilete forms. These assemblages suggest an Upper Raniganj age for this bed.