Gondwana Floras of India and Antarctica—A Survey and Appraisal

During the last three decades, there has been a steady flow of papers on the paleobotany and stratigraphy of India and Antarctica. This chapter will consider the various megafossil assemblages from these regions, which range in age from Lower Permian to Lower Creta­ceous. Previously, the oldest rocks in the Gondwana Sequence of India were thought to be Late Carboniferous, but these are now believed to represent the Lower Permian. Although the sequence of formations within the Permian is fairly well established (Table 10.2), the ages and sequential positions of the various younger formations [above the Panchet Formation (lowermost Triassic), Ta­ble 10.1] are still debated. In some cases, the Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous formations rest directly on metamorphic rocks or gneisses believed to be of Archaean origin. Nowhere have these formations been observed superimposed in sequential order.