Occurrence of a Spectacular Glossopteris Flora from the Late Permian Beds of Madhupur Village, Talcher Basin, India and Their Connotations on Palaeoclimate and Biostratigraphy

An affluent and well-preserved collection of plant megafossils is recovered from the Lower Kamthi sediments of Madhupur Village, Talcher Basin, Odisha, India. It comprises Sphenophyllales (Trizygia speciosa), Filicales (Neomariopteris hughesii), Equisetales (Schizoneura gondwanensis, equisetaceous stems), Ginkgoales (Rhipidopsis gondwanensis) and Glossopteridales (Glossopteris with 45 species, Palaeovittaria kurzii and stem casts). The palaeovegetation of the studied area has also been portrayed. The lithology of the studied section and the record of a good number of middle and broad mesh forming petiolate Glossopteris leaves, presence of Sphenophyllales and Filicales and the absence of a typical Triassic element (Dicroidium) in these beds suggest their affiliation with the Lower Kamthi Formation of Late Permian/Lopingian epoch (Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian age). The study of the macrofloral assemblage demonstrates warm, humid and temperate climatic conditions during the deposition of sediments in the Early Kamthi, unlike the arid conditions during the deposition of sediments in the Late Kamthi (Induan to Olenekian). The occurrence of a large number of petiolate leaves is indicative of the prevalence of high velocity winds at that time. The recovery of a good number of plant megafossils and the absence of coal reveal that the sediments were deposited in a quiet and still water environment. There might be fairly high relief in this area, and a quick burial of the sediments and plant material might have happened in a fluvio-lacustrine settings. Lithology of the beds shows that despite a fair humidity, the Lower Kamthi sediments did not attain maximum maturity.