Miospore Assemblage of Seam Ix of East Raniganj Coalfield (India)*
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MIOSPORE ASSEMBLAGE OF SEAM IX OF EAST RANIGANJ COALFIELD (INDIA)* S. 1(, SALUJHA Research & Training Institute. Oil & Natural Gas Commission, Dehra Dun ABSTRACT Bowlah seam (VIII) and crops out to the The spore and pollen flora contained in seam IX east of the Kajora-Siduli strike-fault at (Upper Kajora seam at the J aipuria Kajora colliery) Modhujori colliery and to the west of of Raniganj coalfield consists of 32 genera and 72 Khandra and Khas Kajora collieries. species, out of which 11 species are new. The spore Further south it is worked at a depth in the assemblage of this seam has also been compared with those of the underlying seams (Nos. VIII & pits of Central Kajora colliery. On the east VII in succession) and the important seam to seam. of the fault the seam crops out again in the qualitative as well as quantitative differences have Parashkol tract and continues southwards been discussed. across the eastern half of Kajora colliery area. The Khandra faults have affected the INTRODUCTION Upper Kajora seam in the area very pro• foundly. The seam outcrop south of Ukhra town becomes thinner very rapidly eastward MIOSPORESRaniganj Stagecontained(Upper inPermian)the coalshaveof so that its thickness is only 7 ft. in a number been extensively worked out by of bore holes located north-west of the Bharadwaj (1962) and Bharadwaj & Salujha Sarpi village. The Upper Kajora seam (1965, a, b). Bharadwaj (lac. cit.) has outcrop east of the Babuisol fault has been described the various genera present in these marked with the help of 2 bore holes coals whereas Bharadwaj & Salujha (1964) located in the area to the north-west of have delimited the various species repre• Sokra. Below this seam is the typical sented in seam VIII of the Raniganj sandstone succession of the thickness of coalfield, India. This has been done after a 197 feet. detailed study of hundreds of specimens of each genus and ascertaining the value of MATERIAL AND METHODS different characters individually as well as in combination. In a subsequent publication The material for the present study was (BHARAD.& SALUJHA,1965 a) seam VIII has provided by the Fuel Research Institute. also been correlated from distantly situated Jealgora. The usual maceration procedure collieries. In another paper Bharadwaj & was adopted. The macerate used for Salujha (1965, b) have described the mio• qualitative study was passed through a sieve spore assemblage of seam VII in Raniganj such that the wood shreds, cuticles, etc., were coalfield. separated and a concentrated sporiferous The present paper deals with a sporological material was obtained. In doing so some of study of seam IX (Upper Kajora) at the the spores were lost, either by remaining Jaipuria Kajora colliery of the Raniganj sticking to the extrenuous matter above or coalfield, Bihar. The spore and pollen flora by passing down through the finer sieve. recovered here has also been compared with Thus for an exact quantitative analysis of the the underlying seam:; (Nos. VIII & VII in miospore assemblage the unsieved macerate succe:;sion) and the remarkable differences, was used. both qualitative as well as quantitative, The thickness of the Upper Kajora seam have been brought out. is about 21 feet, of which only the top 10' 4w The Upper Kajora seam (IX) is the upper• has been sampled. The sampling details most workable seam of the Raniganj Stage along with the maceration numbers of the in the eastern part of Raniganj coalfield. samples collected have been given in the It lies about 220 ft. above the Jambad following table (TABLE1). *Work carried out at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, for the Scheme "Palaeobotanical Investigation of Indian Coals" (C.S.I.R.). 227 228 THE PALAEOBOTA~IST TABLE 1- UPPER KAJORA SEAM, JAIPURIA KAJORA COLLIERY, RANIGANJ COALFIELD Location of place of Sampling - No.2 Pit, 27th level between 17th & 18th dip. N.E. Section Total thickness of the seam - 21 ft. (Working Sution Top 8') DullCoal Coalwith withbrightsthin Ul G) Foot89732No.~o. No.laminationslaminations65:\fAc.F.S.10F.S.3"x2".138137136139140134133ShaleF.S.No.NO.4Ko.SAMPLENo.~o.Ko.132135141ofof101brightsbrights 0'5"0'9"1'0"0'3"1'4"1Section'0"THICKNESSofchannelthe seam "<t- CoalDullalongwithCoal abrightswith thin 0'6"0'9")0'6"lO'7"l)-))-1'0"1'0" sample5 by Foot ....•UlS o laminationsCoalCoalDulllaminationswithCoalwith ofbrightsCoalwithbrightslaminationslaminationsbrightsof withthinbrightsbrightsof brights ,~ Dull Coal with thin Dull] Coal with thinthin 0'3" ]1'0"~j1'0" Dull Roof-CoalDESCRIPTIONwithCarbothin OF' STRATA Floor - Cal>/;.Shale SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF SPORAE DISPERSAE Calamospora aplata Bharad. & Salujha Calamospora exila Bharad. & Salujha Retusotriletes . divc1'sijormis (B. & H.) The miofloral assemblage of the Upper Bharad. Kajora seam consists of 32 genera and 72 Cyclogranisporites gondwanensis Bharad. species. Qualitatively spore and pollen flora & Salujha of the present seam is almost the same as Cyclogranisporites optimus Bharad. & those of the ]ambad Bowlah and Bonbahal Salujha seams (BHARADWA]& SALU]HA1964, 1965 b) Lophotriletes recttts Bharad. & Salujha but for few species which are described below. d. Lophotriletes rarus Bharad. & Salujha Quantitative differences are rather very Apiculatisporis weylandii Bharad. & marked and perhaps very important to Salujha differentiate various strata in the same basin. H orriditriletes cttrvibaculosus Bharad. & The already known species recovered from Salujha the present assemblage have been listed here H orriditriletes sp. A whereas the new species are described in Cyclobaculisporites indicus Bharad. & detail. Salujha Leiotriletes sp. Cyclobaculisporites minutus Bharad. & d. Concavisporites bankolensis Bharad. & Salujha Salujha Microjoveolatispora sp. Eupunctisporites gravus Bharad. & Indospora clara Bharad. Salujha I1tdospora macula Bharad. & Salujha SALUJHA -l\IIOSPORE ASSEMBLAGE OF SEAM IX, OF RANIGANJ COALFIELD 229 I ndospora sp. Anteturma - Sporites H. Pot. 1893 Turma - Triletes (Reinsch) Pot. & Kr. 1954 Gondisporites sp. Subturma - Azonotriletes Luber 1935 Latosp01'ites colliensis (B. & H.) Bharad. Infraturma - Laevigati (B. & K.) Pot. 1956 Latosporites sp. Punctatosporites sp. Calamospora S.W. & B. 1944 Thymospora gondwanensis Bharad. & Calamospora rotata sp. novo Salujha Densipollenites indicus Bharad. PI. 1. Figs. 1-4 Densipollenites invisus Bharad. & Salujha H olotype - PI. 1, Fig. 1. Densipollenites sp. St1'iomonosaccites circularis Bharad. & Diagnosis - Circular, 28-40 fL. Y-m~rk distinct, rays !-2/3 radius long, exme Salujha laevigate. Platysaccus sp. Description - Yellow, circular miospores, Cuneatisporites sp. halo type 32 fL. Trilete mark clearly Striatiies notus Bharad. & Salujha discernible, rays t-2/3 radius long, ray ends Striatites rhombicus Bharad. & Salujha usually blunt, rarely pointed; exine and Striatites subtilis Bharad. & Salujha extrema-lineamenta smooth. Striatites solitus Bharad. & Salujha Striatites communis Bharad. & Salujha Comparison - Calamospora a1?latais big~er in size with an infrapunctate exme. C. extla Verticipollenites ftnitimus Bharad. & is also bigger in size and has a dark brown Salujha central body. Verticipollenites subcircularis Bharad. & Almost similar specimens referred as Salujha Calamospora sp. have been illustrated by Verticipollenites gibbosus Bharad. Bharadwaj & Salujha (1965 b; PL. 1, FIGS. Lahi1'ites singularis Bharad. & Salujha Lahirites incertus Bharad. & Salujha 6-7).. They may also belong to the present speCIes. Lahirites parvus Bharad. & Salujha Hindipollenites oblongus Bharad. & Infraturma - Apiculati (B. & K.) Pot.1956 Salujha Cyclogranisporites Pot. & Kr. 1954 Lunatisporites fuscus Bharad. Lunatisporites sp. A Cyclogranisporites sp. Lunatisporites sp. B· PI. 1, Fig. 5 Striatopodocarpites decorus Bharad. & Salujha Description - Golden yellow: circular Striatopodocarpites magniftcus Bharad. & miospores, size ± 62 (J.. Tnlete m~rk Salujha clearly seen, rays t-2/3 radius long. Exme Faunipollenites varius Bharad. ornamented with ± 1 fL broad grana; F aunipollenites sp. A. grana closely set usually cohering to give a Striapollenites saccatus Bharad. pseudoreticulate appearance; about 75 grana Striapollenites obliqU'usBharad. & SaluJha seen at the margin. Striapollenites sp. Comparison - Cyclogranisporites gondwan• SHlcatisporites ovatHs (B. & H.) Bharad. ensis is much smaller in size and the Y-rays Sulcatisporites sp. A are 3/4 the radius or more long. C. optimus, Sulcatisporites sp. B. though measuring as much as th~ p:e~ent Welwitschiapites tenuis Bharad. & SaluJha specimen differs in having an mdIstmct Welwitschiapites extansus Bharad. & trilete mark and loosely arranged grana. Salujha d. Gnetaceaepollenites sp.· Apiculatisporis Pot. & Kr. 1956 Decussatisporites lucifer Bharad. & Salujha ., Apiculatisporis grandis sp. novo The new species are not mcluded m the PI. 1, Figs. 6-8 above list. They are systematically classified and described belmv. They are arranged Holotype - PI. 1, Fig. 6. according to the artificial system of classifica• Diagnosis - Circular, 50-60 fL .. Y-mark tion put forward by Potonie & Kremp (1954) distinct, rays t-! radius long; exme orna• and subsequently elaborated by Potonie mented with 1·5-3 fL long and ± 1·5 fL (1956, 1958, 1960). broad coni. 230 THE PALAEOBOTANIST Description - Golden yellow, circular to Comparison - Lophotriletes rectus has subcircular miospores, holotype 50 [1.. Trilete comparatively bigger and sparsely arranged mark clearly seen, rays i-I radius length, coni.