Occurrence of two characteristic Wealden ferns in the Jabalpur series

Abstract

Plant fossils collected by us during the years 1957-58 from the Upper Gondwanas exposed near Bansa, South Rewa Gondwana basin, and Sehora, Satpura basin, include two well-known Wealden ferns, namely, Weichselia Stiehler and Onychiopsis Yokoyama. The collection from Bansa includes a few sterile fronds of Weichselia sp. (Figs. 1 and 2). The pinnules of these are slightly different from those of W. reticulata in the nature of their reticulate venation. In our specimens the areolae between the midrib and the margin are more elongate. Both the fertile and sterile fronds of Onychiopsis (Figs. 3 and 4) from Bansa resemble rather O. capsulifera described by Velenvosky1. The specimens of Onychiopsis from Sehora are all sterile and resemble rather O. psilotoides. No Weichselia has so far been collected from Sehora.