Megafloral Assemblage Similar to Karharbari Biozone from Talchir Coalfield of Mahanadi Basin, Orissa

A rich collection of plant megafossils have been studied from the rocks of Karharbari Formation (Early Permian=Lower Artlnskian) at South Balanda Colliery (Latitude 20° 56' Longitude 85° 14'), Talcher Coalfield, Angul dlsmct, Orissa The lower Gondwana rocks tn this coalfield have been represented by Talchir, Karharbari,Barakar, Barren Measures and the Kamthi Formations (in ascending order) represented earliest Permian to Late Permian Palaeobotanical studies have been extensively carried out in the past by a number of workers in almost all the Lower Gondwana formations except the Karharban Formation Megafloral assemblage has been recovered for the first time from Karharban sediments of the Lower Gondwana deposits in this coalfield

The specimens are preserved as impressions and compressions on blackish grey fine-grained shales of the South Balanda Colliery exposed just above the carbonaceous shales The lowermost coal seam ie seam no 1/ Karharbari seam of this coalfield exists below the above-mentioned two shale bands The megafloral assemblage consists of Phyllotheca westensis, Noeggerathiopsis hislopn, Euryphyllurm whittianum, E malthyi, Macrotaemopteris feddenr, Bunadla heterophylla, Glossopterrs browniana,G communis, Gangamopteris cyclopteroides and Surangephyllurn elongaturn The genus Bunadra dominates the total assemblage (about 80%) The assemblage has been compared thoroughly with the known megafloral assembIages of Karharbari Formation.