Occurrence of a leafy Jungermanniales in the Mesozoic of the Rajmahal Hills, India

Abstract

A member of leafy Jungermanniales of Hepaticopsida is seen in a thin section prepared of silicified chert of Nipania, Rajmahal Hills, Jharkhand. The leafy thallii are either simple or bifurcated and have two lateral rows and one ventral row of leaves. Young plant has only few leaves. Multicellular ventral scales resembling those of extant Marchantiales are also seen in the slide. Scattered spores of pteridophytes and pollen grains of gymnosperms are also visible. Occurrence of a fossil leafy Jungermanniales plant is reported for the first time from this fossiliferous area.