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Permian Palynomorphs from the Number 5 Seam, Ecca Group, Witbank/Highveld Coalfields, South Africa

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Permian Palynomorphs from the Number 5 Seam, Ecca Group, Witbank/Highveld Coalfields, South Africa Palaeont. afr., 31,97-109 (1994) PERMIAN PALYNOMORPHS FROM THE NUMBER 5 SEAM, ECCA GROUP, WITBANK/HIGHVELD COALFIELDS, SOUTH AFRICA. by G. A. Aitken Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa. ABSTRACT A palynological study of the number 5 seam in the Ecca group has yielded a wide variety of miospores, with a lateral and vertical consistency in their relative abundance, ·diversity and composition. Striate bisaccate pollen genera predominate, particularly Protohaploxypinus Samoilovich emend. Morbey 1975, Striatopodocarpites Zoricheva & Sedova ex Sedova emend. Hart 1964 and Weylandites Bharadwaj & Srivastava 1969. On a regional scale the number 5 seam palynomorphs correlate both quantitatively and qualitatively with Biozone F of MacRae (1988) from the Waterberg and Pafuri coal-bearing basins, and Hammanskraal plant locality. Broad palaeoenvironmental inferences drawn from both the palynology and sedimentology of this seam, support a flood plain setting, comprising shallow wide open pans and peat swamps interspersed with wide water-logged mud flats. The surrounding highlands would have been forested mostly by plants adapted to wind dispersal with colonisation of the levees and margins of smaIl ponds by spore producers. The age of the number 5 seam is tentatively suggested as Guadalupian, which in turn is equated with the Tatarian (European Standard usage); Midian to Dzhulfian (Tethys usage). KEY WORDS: Ecca, Karoo, Palynology, Permian, Biostratigraphy. INTRODUCTION Twenty to thirty samples, each weighing ± 500 The coalfields falling within the study area are part grams, were collected from a number of sites at each of the northern Karoo Basin and are situated mine. Extraction of the palynomorphs from the approximately 100km to the east of Johannesburg samples was carried out using a routine process (Figure 1). In this area a major depositional sequence of developed at the U.S Geological Survey (Dohler 1980). 120m is represented. This sedimentary package This process enabled the rapid maceration of a wide contains six bituminous coal seams and the sequence is variety of lithotypes, and individual steps were carried underlain by diamictite of the Dwyka Group or pre­ out according to the characteristics of each of the Karoo basement rocks. Coal seams are numbered 1-6 samples. from the base. The No 6 seam is laterally impersistent Visual counts of a minimum of 250 and maximum of and is rarely found in the Witbank and Highveld 500 miospore specimens were undertaken. The relative Coalfields. abundance of species involved absolute counts within the first 250-500 and the supra-generic analysis PREVIOUS PALYNOLOGICAL comprised of these initial 250-500 miospores. INVESTIG A TIONS To date the only published palynological work on GEOLOGY the number 5 seam in the Witbank and Highveld The Karoo Basin of South Africa contains the Coalfields has been that of Falcon et al. (1984), who subcontinent's most complete geological record of late documented the qualitative/quantitative characteristics Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic 'Gondwanan' sediments of samples from five main seams (1-5) at Greenside (Le Blanc Smith 1980). This asymmetrically filled Colliery. Palynological comparisons of these seams basin represents a depository formed between the Cape were made using a palynobiostratigraphic type Fold Belt to the south and the Kaapvaal Craton to the sequence from Zimbabwe (Falcon 1975, 1978). north. In 1980 the South African Committee for MATERIALS AND METHODS Stratigraphy introduced a formal lithostratigraphic The number 5 seam in the Witbank/Highveld nomenclature for the Northern Karoo Sequence, which Coalfields varies in thickness laterally, but generally replaced the Lower, Middle and Upper subdivisions of averages about 2.5 metres. For the present study four the Ecca Group with the Pietermaritzburg Shale mine sites were investigated, namely Matla, Khutala, Formation, the Vryheid Formation, and the Volksrust Greenside and Rietspruit. Shale Formation, respectively (Figure 2). ", 98 1 Johannesburg WITBANK COALFIELD ,,~ ;" • ~ f:l) ", Delmas ",- __________~tJ?;"",;" ", ~~-~ ,,'" / ;" " / . -. - -- '" HIGHFELD COALFIELD / ~ Pre-Karoo • Bethal / Karoo / 0 I Km EASTERN TRANSVAAL 0 Scale 40 Km COALFIELD Figure 1. Geological map illustrating the location of the Witbank/Highveld Coalfields (adapted from Caimcross, 1986) Coal seams in the Witbank and Highveld Coalfields sandstones, while the Vryheid Formation is dominated are situated in the Vryheid Formation which by grey mudrocks, sandstones and coal seams. conformably overlies the glaciogenic Dwyka Group or The regional stratigraphy in the northern Highveld unconformably overlies pre-Karoo rocks. The rocks of Coalfield is essentially similar to that of the Vryheid the Karoo Sequence in the study area are represented Formation in the adjacent central Witbank Coalfield only by the Dwyka Group and the Vryheid Formation. (Le Blanc Smith 1980). Cairncross and Cadle (1987) This is due to the northern pinch out of the subdivided the Vryheid Formation into 6 informal Pietermaritzburg Shale Formation and the removal Genetic Sequences which are each terminated by coal through erosion of the Volksrust Formation. The seams. Dwyka Group comprises diamictites, mudrocks and The 5 Seam Genetic Sequence comprises the interval of Karoo strata between the roof of the number LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY GENETIC 4 Upper Seam and the roof of the number 5 Seam. The STRATIGRAPHY number 5 Seam is laterally continuous over a large area VOLKSRUST FORMATION ABSENT THROUGH EROSION and displays little variation in gross thickness and is characterised by negligible variations in litho­ 6 SEAM GENETIC SEQUENCE stratigraphic composition (Caimcross & Cadle 1987). 5 SEAM GENETIC SEQUENCE The 5 Seam Genetic Sequence is represented by a VRYHEID FORMATION 4 SEAM GENETIC SEQUENCE thin, laterally continuous, brown glauconitic intetlaminated sandstone-siltstone, capped by a 2 SEAM GENETIC SEQUENCE sporadically developed number 4 Local Seam and a PIETERMARITZBURG SHALE white well-sorted, glauconitic sandstone. The number ABSENT THROUGH EROSION FORMATION . 4 Seam is overlain by an upward-coarsening succession comprising, from the base upwards, carbonaceous DWYKAGROUP siltstone, lenticular-laminated siltstone, interlaminated sandstone-siltstone, flaser-Iaminated sandstone and Figure 2. Diagram illustrating the sub-division of the Vryheid cross laminated sandstone, capped by the laterally Formation into informal genetic sequences (adapted continuous, uniformly thick number 5 Seam (Winter, from Winter, Caimcross & Cadle, 1987). Cairncross & Cadle 1987) . 99 AVERAGE "10 COUNT 0 ACllntholrU.,.. ""'.""lIullllll. 2 Aplcu/aU.poria comu'u. 3 Ap/Cu/au.poM M". 4 C./amo_a plica" 5 Co~ttlsporlt•• mot1Onli 8 Cyr:/of1ranl."ortle. gond_Mn~. 7 CycIOflnmJspori'•• WHTtICoaua II o.ltoldospora dlrectll TRILETES 9 Or.nul.tJsporll•• papillasus 10 Granu/atisportl•• lrIsinua 11 Oranu/attspor/,•• mkrogranlr., 12 Honklilrll.t•• ramo.u. 13 Horrid/triM'•• gondrranens/a 14 LopholTlI.",. notrlcu. 15 Lopholrll.,.. scottnu. 18 PunctatJ."orl,.. g,.,.n•• 17 VerrucosJaporl,.. Mumovae 18 Verrucos/sporl'•• puvdotwtJcullltu. Bol1yocoCCli. braunU Clrr:ull.port",. _. ~ ABOVE' 5 SEAM 21 u.cuta,.."orII•• ampIu. ~ UPPER' 5 SEAM ALETES 22 Macu""-"orlt•• gondwflnen•• IDl MIDDLE' 5 SEAM 23 Sacart."ortle. _Iv. LOWER' 5 SEAM 24 Mehll."h.. rtdlum co/lMnft 24 e;J • BELOW' 5 SEAM r Punctalo."orlle. gra_ 25 28 Puncta/l.,,_. rolUtJdu. 26 CoIvmJnl.porl/e• .". 27 MONOLETES :: . r La.lIIQalo."ortl•• tNIQarIa 28 29 Tlrymo."ora p_lhle_nII 29 30 Po/ypodll."ort,.. mutabllla 30 Umlll.porl/e. moaNan* 31 DISACCITRILETES fl32 Umlll."ortl•• --- 32 33 34 35 AII."ortle. polanlel 35 38 Algport,.• .".14 36 [)JSACCIATRILETES 37 PtalyNccu. p.,,_ 37 311 PlalyNCCUa radJaIIa 38 3. Pleruclllpo/le""'. g_ 39 40 Ptaruchlpollettlta• .".A 40 41 IJIJraIrartta. rota,.,. ·41 42 Cennanoropo/l/a d.nw. 42 43 Cen_oUl.}anaId/ 43 44 Cennanoropom. obcurw 44 MONOSACCATES 45 FIorlnlta • • ,._ 45 48 PI/CaUpollenll•• l1ond_ 48 47 Pl/Catipollenlle.1IifIonaIU 47 48 SITiomono.. cc11e. _,.,. 48 4' PO_/IIp<JIIr.. notrlcu. 49 ClmtlTlnldl,.. __ 50 50 51 ClrralTlnldll•• au.__ 51 52 Clrralrlradl,.. f/bulalve 52 53 ClmtlTlradll•• .",._ 53 ZONATES 54 Gondl."ortm• .". 54 55 Indo_lie. raldl/ 55 58 Kra.u_II.portta•• nonnI. 56 57 Zlnji."ortl•• __ 57 CycMlopl,.. cymba"'. 58 Cycadopl,.. /oll/Cularte 59 PLICATES : CycMlopi,.. n ...~ 60 Gn... c. •• po/hlnlt •• ~nuo.u. 61 82 Maraup;Pollen/,.• • lTIalu. 62 83 "",..upipollenll•• "ndilltu. 63 r-84 Ouadrisporll•• ho"idus 64 JUGATES Figure 3. Species variation in the number 5 seam. -, 100 AVERAGE % COUNT ...... I\) C11 a C11 a a a a a a I 65 Corisaccites alutas 65 ABOVE # 5 SEAM 66 Lueckisporites sp. 66 UPPER # 5 SEAM 67 Lueckisporites virkkiae 67 66 Lunatisporites sp. 68 MIDDLE # 5 SEAM 69 Protohaploxypinus amplus 69 LOWER # 5 SEAM 70 Protohaploxypinus diagonalis 70 71 Protohaploxypinus goraiensis 71 BELOW # 5 SEAM 72 Protohaploxypinus globus 72 73 Protohaploxypinus hartii 73 V'1 74 Protohaploxypinus jacobii 74 75 Protohaploxypinus latissimus 75 76 Protohaploxypinus limpidus 76 ~ 77 Protohaploxypinus microcorpus 77 > 76 Protohaploxypinus suchonensis 78 ;d 79 Protohaploxypinus sulcatus 79 V'1 60 Striatobieites mullistriatus 80 61 Striatopodocarpites brevis 81 62 Striatopodocarpites cancel/atus 82 63 Striatopodocarpites lusus 83 64 Striatopodocarpites gondwanensis 84 65 Striatopodocarpites pantii 66 Striatopodocarpites phaleratus 85 67
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