Triassic succession in Spiti valley

STRATIGRAPHY AND PALYNOLOGY OF CARBONIFEROUS-PERMIAN – TRIASSIC SUCCESSION IN SPITI  VALLEY, TETHYS HIMALAYA, INDIA

Journal of The Paleontological Society of India

pdf download
ABSTRACT
The present paper is based on an extensive field work in Spiti Valley, to understand the regional  relationship of various lithounits Carboniferous—Permian—Triassic succession. The sequences worked out  tor their stratigraphy include Takche section, Caiimachidarn Hill section in Upper Spit-i Valley; and Lingfi Hill and Poh Hillock section in Lower Spiti Valley. In view of present field observations, the level. ing Yormation, (Jechang and C-ungaphic status of Kuling Formation The rock samples from these strata are analysed for palyno brown in colour, along with few hyaline specimens, The taphono .ormations)  qualitative assessment reveals  in Manda ksa Nala, Canmachid ale in the lower part ofLilang Grou h Pviz., Lu ndbludispora, Krempipollenites, /ircuatipollenites.errugmous layer is present above this Group. This appears to marker bed representing the Event Formation has yielded typical Permian brachiopods and palynomorphs, and the limestone-shale unit of Lilang Group, refer Otocems-Ophiczms bed, has yielded Triassic cephalopods (Otocems, Ophicems, etc.), bivalves (Clizraia), conodonts (Gomiolella the dahirn line ot ICI
Stage of Pcrrnian to Griesbachian Stage of Triassic.

Recovery of spores-pollen is orphs However, the top 1 30 m sequence otGungri I‘0l‘1’l’\fitl0fl is unfossilitei-ous, and thus, be
C
ary. Does this level correspond to Dorashamian / Cliangxingian to make the complete succession from
Ylllldllk
to 1
th
and
P / Tr boundary is concerned,
re
dtoa
Mandaksa section
status of some lithounits, such
5
INTRODUCTION horizons were later described by Diener (1899, 1909,
Thes In Valle O ularl knownas thecold desert 1912, 1915), Gothan and Sahn1(1942), Hoeg et al. (1955)
P Y/P P Y / – . – ‘
a remote part of Himachal Pradesh in the NOrth_ and Tewari (1959). In recent years, general stratigraphy
1’11
The Valley forms
iic zone of the Tethyan
The basin is bounded by the Indus-Tsangpo
(ITSZ) in the north and metamorphic base-
he south. Structurally,
Stoliczka (1865). Subsequently, Greisbach (1889)
the valley and correlated the rocks of Spiti with
un However, Hayden (1904) was the first
A
“Q
/e,
A”/S
>44’
‘1’-
<‘ – a,_,./ ,. c .1 h l . give a comprehensive and systematic geological ac- Dem. of the Spiti area, establishing the complete se— A,-ea under e from Cambrian to Cretaceous in this area. The ‘ Y and flora from Carboniferous-Permian-Triassic that lies between longitude 77° 38’ : M M U 1° 42’; 32° 29’ N, covering an area > .»-I ~-».\4″’l>
7500 sq km. The altitude of the area ranges from /,- – ‘ \ I , t I? |
6500 m. It is bounded in the north by Ladakh CF‘ L A ;f,fO~-” \_)
of J & K, in the south by Kinnaur District of I I 0 L es} 1 ~ ti _ /I
Pradesh, in the east by Tibet and in the west ‘_,_- must Nevuns resist (\
44 munu
ac”
. . – A L
a part of the Spiti-Zanskar ‘\,\_ .~1,_.,, ‘<‘”°'” \_»_ 4 nimni ‘4 Lahaul Valley and Kulu District of Himachal Pradesh -—-‘ _,-\,// ‘1 so , >< hill L_*.>;§_’
1) J ’ ° K. -~‘ ‘
Fan
RADEsH
u
N
KASHMI A
g ‘<u‘” I5 ‘u a c §. W Pooh . l KIN nun \ >4mim=un w nit
\
_ 5. »
SUNDARNA6Ar1‘\ KM” (X
50‘ nmnun
-~ P Bl sr-u unmuna ”
‘ ‘an…
CNANDIGA N “MW,
Spiti Valley strikes parallel to the general ‘ ‘ -*- “WM ’___,/” –a- -2 ” _
the Himalaya which is northwest— southeast. W,“ M, -” ’
first account on the geology of the area was given “ref; sou”
UTTAR
Q
L.
i 7 ‘ 1 DENRADUN
. 0 hrndu
.-> -, .’ PRADESH
.\ \-‘_ .5‘
. .,. .A
N. r,s ~-,_ .!_ 4
N 0 | A I: Stud
1
-4m
——t
“».
Fig. 1. Location map of the area.

and structure of the Spiti Basin, particularly related to
the present interest, have been dealt by Srikantia (1981),
Ranga Rao ct al. (1984), Bhargava (1987), Bhargava and
Bassi (1988), Bhargava and Gadhoke (1988), Bhargava er
al. (1985a, 1985b, 1991) and Bagati (1990). Similarly, Goel
(1977,1982),Bhattandloshi(1978a,1978b,1981a,1981b),
Bhatt er al. (1980, 1981a, 1981b) and Bhatt and Arora
(1984) contributed towards the biostratigraphy based on
micro- and mega- fossils, whereas Khanna and Tiwari
(1983) dealt with the miospores. The present interest in
Spiti Valley is confined to the Carboniferous, Permian
and Lower Triassic successions, with the following ob-
jectives : i) to prepare the lithostratigraphic columns in
different sections to understand the regional and lateral
relationship of these litho—units, and ii) to study the
palynoflora to throw some light on the P/Tr boundary.
GEOLOGICAL SET-UP

The Spiti Valley offers a remarkably thick sequence
of sedimentary rocks (Plate 1, fig. 1) resting upon
Precambrian Crystalline Basement. The generalised
lithostratigraphic succession of the Spiti Valley is given
in Table 1. The distribution of these sediments in the Spiti
Valley is shown in fig. 2.
Table 1 : Stratigraphy of the Spiti Basin (after Srikantia, 1981; partly modified)
Age Group l-ormafion Member
Lithology
Quaterna ry
Flcree Terraces
Glacial Erratics
River Terraces
Glacial Moraines
Shale
Chikkirn
Limestone
Greyish-yellow calcareous shale
with thin limestone bands
Greyislrblue limestone
Cretaceous Giumal
Kibber
Calcareous sandstone, quadzite with
lenses of limestone and intorbcded
black to olive green shale
Late Iurassic to
Early Cretaceous
Spiti 5hale
Black carbonaceous shale with small quartzite
bands in the upper part
Simokhambda
(:Kioto Limestone)
]urrasic
Ma ssive to bedded greyish-blue limestone
Alaror
Lilang
Shaly limestone with sporadic
lenticles of quartzite and shale
Nimaloksa
Triassic
Becld ed to massive limestone with
sporadic dolomite
Hanse
l .in’\estone with interbeds of greyish
weathered calcareous shale
Tamba Ku rkur
Greyislvblue to dark grey bedded,
limestone with greyish weathered shale
Gung;ri
carbonaceous shale and siltstone with
concretionary nodules
Permian Kuling Gechang
Calcareous sandstone, quartzite and
locally gritstone; grey needle/platy
stmle, gritty quartzite and quartzose
sandstone
Ganmachidam
Polymictic conglomerate, gritstone,
and quartzitic sandstone
Po
Quartzite with interbeds of black
splintary shale and siltstonc
Carboniferous Kanawar
Lipak
Blnish grey limestone, dolomite, with
interbeds of shale, pockets of gypsum
Late to Muth
Middle Devonian
Compact to friable mottled white Orthoa
quartzite, with dolomite in upper part

OF CARBONIFEROUS PERMIAN – TRIASSIC
Age
Group Formation Member
Lithology
Early Devonian
to Late Silurian
Takchc
(: Pin Dolomite)
Fcrruginous calcarenite, slate, clolomitic
limestone and shalt:
Ordovician
Calnbrian
to
llrccarnbrian
lvliango
(:Shial\ Quartzite)
lntcrbedd ed purple quartzite and
purple: shale, siltstmie, calcrcnitc,
polymictite and sporadic dolomite
E
Pink and brown quartzite, shale,
slate, do] omitic limestone, silt~
stone, purple and green shale
D
l”lai.manta
Olive green slate and flaggy quarwite
with sporadic dolomite lenses
Kunzam l.a C
Haggy quartzite with slate partings
B
Shale, slate, siltstnne with quartzite
A
Grey quartzite with slate partings
Bntal
Black pyntic carbonaceous slate and
phyllite with quartzite, locally
gritstone, and also olive green slate
Proterozoic
Salkhala
Mica schist, phyllite, quartzite,
augen biotite gneiss with inter~
t’ol.ia ted rnigmatites
Romang CneiSsic Complex
Gneisses, migmatites and metasecliments
Base not exposed
BAYAL
<9
!&NA@ARYAL
A
-125? A5564
‘Q
9 * _
. ‘ ~w -1-
. _
§9n<u~z.w|. \\““‘ ’\\\\§“““:l’ i~|’| | ~ |‘|lnl ‘ | |’|-I ||||| |’ | i-“=1 | I ill ‘ 0 T-‘ e \/$40 \\\“‘®\§§\} §\\ m|i!!Lk& | |’|-Fe A . ‘|’|’|!I! @!’|-‘ 2 ii‘ ‘|!|:i mm- l!%l'( 1r’-f’*’ =5 . l-I I 32? 0 \x €» \\§\\\\..:f“ la ;..%ii|||||||||,l| L 7 ifli}m’||!|!rii}| l|l‘l|l|||lili!¢ I N | | 1 6 ‘i‘i!i’||’/!”’**i’ i 7 |il!yi||’|i ?‘m! -11:5: I ii 0 , ~..,’ / 9 ’////,; o a ”’»» Y O . /’ -’— 6 /\ 5 0 I0 I5 :QII1_i so \ GEO“ Fljuj Km \ I– . * i: 1 J- Ii. _ 1| l|l ll .._4. Y I 5512 ‘1 A5226 \ A _ – MDRAIY – G ‘I 4.| I-I: I 3 “- cm‘ 7 IVI KIBBER . l II 41 1 .>_~
t
1- fie
Fig.2. Sketch map of the Spill Valley showing distribution of Carb0ni.tcrous-Permian~TriaSsic lith0un.iB (after Bagati, 1990)
W*LEGEND
N
Lmlong Group(Tr|uss|<:l ‘I Kulmg Group(Perm|on) rlfi Konowor Group ‘I, (Carboniferous) | ~ \ ! ||’|;- I-|l|{r .. Y‘ ‘m ‘I I‘ Ifumzn AL 1; I ‘””- A ii=’ Anncu V q gmgqg -iili ‘~~J2@:=.“’9~:~»» L |l mil l|!I’ vlli la; l”Q\\\\\\ .|!|! li nil- | I I 1 L P A K F H Lr Carboniferous Z-i|n§i|e s1n|-..*isaz 5 TRILOCHAN SINGH, RS. TIWARI, Vl]AYA AND RAM-AWATAR tains dark-grey phosphatic nodules (Plate 1, fig. 7). nodules vary in shape and size, being mostly nded, oval or elliptical, or rarely elongated and ndrical Thesue varies from a few cm to 1 .5 in. Beside >€, a few lenses or thin beds composed of concretion
nodules also occur within the black shale. At least
)Slll.h beds are located in the black shale atabout 7.30
nd 21 90 m from the top of the black shale, i.e., below
ferruginous layer in Lingti Road Section. The sandy
lein this section shows impressions ofa typical struc-
> and often contains fossils. In Ganmachidam Hill
tion,a few sand shales show seudo- lantfossils.
[
Y P P
Significantly a thin but continuous ferruginous
~r is observed on the top of the black shale of the
igri Formation at Mandaksa, Guling and Li ngti road
ions It varies from 3 to 8 cm in thickness.
The Triassic rocks of the Spiti Valley were referred
IS the Lilang System (Stoliczka, 1865), which were
ionally mapped by Hiyden (1904) and subdivided
) 15 biostratigraphic divisions by Diencr (1)12).
antia (1981) redcsignated it as the Lilang Group and
ided into five formations Subsequently, Bhargava
47) classified it into eight formations. The present
rest, however, is restricted to the lower part of the
is
l
D
The rocks of this group covers a very wide area and
exposed on either side of the Spiti river, from Losar
ankar These are dominantly carbonates, having
The field study shows that the overall lithology of
Lilang Group comprises limestone (often fos
erous, argillaccous, oolitic and intraclastic) with in-
>e
ddcd, often calcareous shale, and quartzite. Higher
5″”F‘l’ N“ TAKCHA SECTION SPITI RIVER BED
1 ,
ai ,\ M glgn
‘\.
ll _
ALTERNATE SEQUENCE uf “”5
SHALE t LIMESTONE V rat _ I 2 \
– ” ‘ )1.ir\¢i*%.* 1′;-1
lime E“ *===. ‘ ‘1’ -K.
|II|I|I || || || || ll I
ilii ll ll ll ll ll
‘|’|||’| ‘i Ii ili Ii Ii I
|.|.|.|. |- ll -In || I. I
up in the sequence Shaly limestone, thin to thitl : \4\ .
with lenticular quartzite and sandstone beds it ” .
carenites are present. The calcarenite shows er‘ —
stratification. The topmost part is represented by m.‘–
sive greyish-blue limestone.
The basal part of the Lilang Group contains flags)‘
limestone with ferruginous chert and calcareous shale
layers, having wavy and irregular bedding surface. The
limestone is grey, greyish-black, black, greyish-blue in
colour with minor shale partings. The shale is typically
ash-grey in colour. Near the base, interlayering of shale
and limestone is very thin, varying from 5 to 15 cms. The
total thickness of this unit is 1.30 m in Lingti Road
Section and 1.25 m in Guling Section. Bhatt and Joshi
(1981 b) and Bhandari ei‘ al. (1992) have shown the thick-
ness of this unit as 0.98 m and 1.15 m, respectively, in
Lalung Section. This unit is referred to as the Oi‘0ceras-
Opliiceras beds. These are overlain by alternation of thick
shale and limestone beds. The thickness oi individual
shale and limestone bed gradually increases upward in
the sequence. These beds also contain fossils particular-
ly the ammonoids. Nodular weathering is a common
feature found in the limestone.
PALYNOFLORAL AND FAUNAL ASSEMBLAGES
Du ring the lasttwo decades, efforts have been made
for the palynostratigraphi c studies in Tethys Himalayan
sediments but the recovery of palynofossils had been
poor.
For the present study, the samples from t ie Permian
and Lower Triassic sequences represented in five sec-
tions have been analysed. Symbols in lithocolums indi-
cate Blan k circle (Faunal yield); Fi lled circle (Palynofossil
yield). A brief account of spore-pollen and fiiunal com-
position and their characteristics are given below for
each section. The palyiiofossil slides have been stored in
the repository of the Birbal Sahni Institute of
—>z
J’ . ,~.
ompa‘\~/‘ ,1 ‘~‘,3
. _ . \
*i Takche Section 5, \‘
H E B R15 *1 Mandaksa Section 3 g;;“|_|fi;hjg;m
a . . . , ,
mm WWW *1 Garimachidarii Hill Section sf“
BASE NOT EXPOSED
l ig 3a lakche Stctioivlitliocolumn showing the lithology, thickness, stratigraphic location or the samples, along
with location of the section measii red.

62
N5 GR.
r
ANE F% EUNER H1. LLA
Perm an UpPerm’an _)l’ Tr’ass
Mk-%rs 1| mk I ‘-
“I” “N mmmm um rn. 0:01
Earhnnhrnus Lr.Permian —’l‘T
1vanmt>l-r?2sm——ela~+~=zs/l—* a am+sm—>t: rt 1:-r-It nm+ -lllrla
saa
FOR
SAMPLE N0
msrr/as
rissvr/rs
THSPY/B]
YYISPT/33
ms?!/32
l‘l’lSPT/Z‘!
T wsvr/25
msvr/|z
l6SPT/ll
7SPY/)5
17sPT/iv =
TRILOCI-LAN SINGH, R.S. TTWARI, VIJAYA AND RAM-AWATAR
GANMAEHIDAM
S. -____.
_____.
:_.___
l|l
u _______‘_‘
n
IE
»
mung-
wwv
vnva
AVAVA
nun‘
<1 >
gv<<
._1 D
,,=.< Av°.~.°-1A“-1 .________ HILL SECTION lN’lEl’lBEDDE|] LIMESTONE 1 SHALE DEBRIS BLACK 5A>|n~rsuAtr_
FOSSIUFERGUS
BLAIK SHALE mm PSElJDO_
PLANT FOSSIL IMPRESSIONS
BLACK smuv SHME
a
D FOSSILIFERGUS
n t B R | s
_ an s/mnsr vim
—Litli H
uttmous smwsrm
rmusmruus noun
smusronz
nwurrrrz
um flUAil’1lYE,THl()(
IEDDEIJ I. FDUEED
mugs: um u EY 10
an x slut:
nutx sun:
DlAHl[Tl‘|£
tnmstnnrnnz mm-1
mt. sum SHALE 15- an
nlmmmr SANUSYONL
EONELUHERATIK AI Putts
ntnnls
RUARTZITE
EREIMSH umurzn
smnsvour AI rnvnnsr
PAR‘!
unlsiuit azmnrs suluv
mvnns UPPUI PART
autx SNALI SPIUNYARY IN
nnuni mm ssr nuns
‘lliu5m| [*7
PO
Up.
-5 – – uunnririr smisruuz
— – Tl
Z LIZ sNAtE,sAwv SNALE HIH1
k—13sm
___ nun PART|:L[,s»0vl|¢n
_ sinnumzv srnutmiis
non IIAIE FflSSI.S
w_~_—v–
YWSPY/in O § Z l_l
Pig 3b. Gaiimaclildam Hill Section, near Losar
Village.
out of which five samples (T17 SPT/2, 3, 4, 5, 10) have
been found to be productive in palynofossils. The details
of the palyno—composition and their characteristic
taphonomic observations determined from the qualita-
tive estimation in the productive samples are given in
Table 3. The representatives of the palyno—assemblage
recovered in this section are shown in Plate II, figs. 1 — 18.
Remarks : The spores and pollen grains are intact;
rarely broken specimens observed, but the exinal char-
acters are, in general, distinct. The total composition
recovered within the samples (T17SPT/2, 3, 4 and 5) are
broadly comparable with the Lower Barakar palyno-
assemblages of the Peninsular India (Tiwari, 1974;
Tiwari & Ram-Awatar, 1988) in frequent occurrences of
Srrlrcuringipollerrires and Faunipollmzrtes specie-
Moreover, the specific diversity in sample T17SPT I .-
quite significant for the real assessment of palyr –
composition atthe base of the Ganmachidam Formation.
In Sample No. T17SPT/10, representing the upper part
of Permian sequence in this section, the yield is not
satisfactory. The faunal occurrence is sporadic in this
section.
Ganmachidarn Hill Section
The Ganamachidam Hill Section (Plate l, fig, 2) was
measured, atleast from its basal part on the two sides-
one from Savita Nala side, and the other from Chichong
village side_(location shown in fig. 3a). This section
shows Upper Carboniferous (Po Formation), Permian
(Ganmachidam, Gechang and Gungri Formations) and
Triassic (Lilang Group) succession (fig. 3b). A total of 39
samples have been processed, out of which foursamples
(T17 SPT/26, 27, 32, 33) have yielded the spores and
pollen. The palyno-composition and other charac-
teristics, as derived from the qualitative estimation of
spore-pollen taxa, are given in Table 4, and its repre-
sentative taxa are shown in Plate Ill, figs, 1-14.
Remarks : The sandy shale of the Gungri Formation
in this section, contains diversified group of palyno-
fossils. The dominating elements are striate-bisaccate
pollen, i.e., Srriutopodocarpitcs, Faunipollenites, Crescen-
/ipolle/zites. Their comparability with the Upper Raniganj
palynoassemblage (Tiwari & Singh, 1986; R-IA) is indi-
cated by having striate-bisaccate pollen in prominence
along with Dcnsipollenitcs species, and the occurrence of
cf. A1’cuatip0llcnitcs and Kumtllisaccitcs. The fauna occurs
sporadically in Gechang Formation in its lower part, but
becomes abundant higher up in the sequence. The
faunal assemblage as a whole indicates Sakmarian to
Artinskian age for this formation. Amongst the faunal
assemblage of Gungri Formation, brachiopods
dominate whereas bivalves and cephalopods are coin-
paratively lesser.
Lingti Hill Section
This section was measured from the point about
100 m North West of Lingti Camp [defined as office of
the Irrigation 8: Public Health (lPH)] tow 11’ClS the hill
peak (Plate I, fig. 3), and hence this section is named as
Lingti Hill Section. ln this section the Permian and the
Triassic successions are well developed (fig. 3c). Seven
samples from this section have yielded palynofossils, of
which four (T17 SPT/115, 116, 117, 118) are from Per-
mian and three (T17 SPT/122, 124,125) are from Trias-
sic sequences. Four other samples (T 17 SPT/109, 110,
111, 114) have also yielded fauna in this section. The
palynological composition as recovered from this sec-

STRATIGRAPHY AND PALYNOLOGY OF CARBONTFEROUS-PERMIAN – TRIASSIC 63
Table 4 : Ganrnachidam Section
Grmip\
Formation
H orizon
rocluciivc 5POre’Pol_len
Samples
T aplmnomic
UbSerVation5
Fa u na
L owur Lilang
Triassic Croup
Upper
Permian
(§\mgri
l‘<>rmat-ion
‘l17Sl’l’/49 —
T17 S1’! /26, Vcr 1 ncosisparzics sp.
27, 32, 33 Dcrrsipullmiftrs indlcus
D.im1isns
cf. knn|.‘In’sncr1lrs knlvitlvimsis
»-I-1 751:1‘/45 Snlmifcs sp.
‘T I 6 $1>T/ Alisporllcs pnrxms
83 85 Krcnlpipollsniles $1,).
‘ ]’iI1!V17}70lI£‘Y!iIL‘5 nnrius
F. p5rc\’1gulls
Slrinliles p17l’ill4S
SI: iu!0paziocm”pi!es decorus
C:’rscsri!fpaIlz’ni!cs fuscus
Uisfrilliilcs bilntemlis
Wcylmuiilss indicus
c/‘A1’cm1lipoII2nitcs avalus
Fmmipollcmtcs pcmxigizwzs
Light yellow to dark brown, exinc
character distinct, grains rarely broken,
glassy appeareance in few specimens,
black organic debris attached on the
specimens
Lower Gcchang ‘T] 6 5l”l’/ — ~
Permian l’ormati<>n
81, 82
Ammonoids
Spiriferella 1-11/1111
M»v’g1’m’fcmhnnnlnycnsis
Muurlunin sp.
F,1nydes1m1 sp.
Peruvispmz sp_
Liriopradrzcllzs 5p.
$pir1fer sp.
Dielnsma sp.
Slreplorhynchus sp.
‘ – Sample yielded fauna
Tab le’5 : Lingti Hill Section
I lcvriyun C-ruup\ roductivc Spore-Pollen liaphcmoinic Fauna
i‘<YTmHt’i0\1 §amples Observations Lower Lilang ‘l17 S-PT/122, \”L’1‘Y’m‘05isp0Y’itr5 sp. Dark Ln-Qwn, exing Triassic Group 124,125 D”?/’Pi}”l7”l’711’if5 »“P- characters nOtdiSl‘iI1Cl; Strinlopadoclwpiles RP. /lrczm/ipallemtzs pellucirlus Dcwsipollenites iridirus Dcvrsipulleriitas imvisns Crrsccnhpollzniles fuscus I-n1mi;m!lenitss z>m’ius
Kmensclisporilcs sp.
/tlisparitcs pnrzms
Lnndlvladispom sp.
L‘) C!r01’dnspm’1lPs sp.
Krcmpipullrmles sp.
SpcCil11€r|tS intact
Uppcr (lungxi T17 Sl’T / 115, l/’cY’l’11casrsp0rifcs l1USl‘l Black brown, cxine Characters
Permian Fnrma tiun 116, 117, I18 V01 rncuszspm 11:5 11m’1rlH111|15 indistinct, black organic
7 S mrcmmspum SP.
ma Her impregnated, well
‘Tl 7 5l”l‘/ 71-“‘l‘_lbl‘m”5v7’°’” 5P_’ preserved, generally intact Spiv’ifercllamjl1l1
mg, 109,110’ Llmcrpollcnncs rrlzvlszls Mm.gim-fsm
111, H4 I):11>rpnlIrr11tcs cpl m.mamymSi5
Cmzbnirspuln 5
Alisymrites pnrnns
/llispurfics inrlicns
Stilenringipullmlilcs mn\’nrms
Fmmipollcnilcs znrius
Slrfnfiles Sp.
Sfiilltupaducllvpvlrs dscorus
Sfrlll!U)’Y0dUCrH’pllES]|lSC1l5
Smnlupoziomzrpztes sp.
Crmccrrlipollmztcs fnscns
I{!1i:nmr1sp0m sp.
/lrcimlzpollenitcs pclluadzls
P” Chnnctid, Bryozoans
‘ — Sample yielded fauna

64
TRILOCHAN STNGH, R5. TIWARI, VIIAYA AND RAM-AWATAR
LINGTI HILL SECTION
SAHFLE N
TITSPT/I15
TITSFT/11$
Luna E\R.__
Triassic I
5+ 5|: -I
SM
-5 Tmspr/m
~ =
TITSPT/I17
3 Ti1sPT/m
/_“i TITSFT/”S
TITSPT/HL
GUNGR FM,
Up. Perm a
os.
. i
.—“–.
. i
-——u
TITSPT/lll I -111-»
_. _,____ w
0 _’.-_‘?;?_‘.-w
0 ::::::
_____ la
o–\=–<»- w
0-B——<l»-O»
;-_”‘_”_~0
ALTERNATE BEDS uF
LIMESTONE AND SHALE
DEBRIS
BROWNISH I.It1ESTONE
DEBRIS
CUNUIETIONS BEARING SANDY
SNALE WITH SILTSTONE
INTEREALATIONS
FH.
__ TITSPT/HI
TWSFT/110
TITSPT/109
Ti1sPT/inc
1
– ‘2
A N G
Lr.Perin an
EEEH
3
§e|(—3nn
0 _’_’T._._._. -._—..+ 3
o.
MODULAR SHALE WITH
ALTERNATE BEDs uF
SILTSTONE TOWARD UPPER
PART
SANDSTONE WITH MINOR
SHALE BANDS I5-lmii
Wu
DEBRIS ]
II
ALTERNATE SHALE li
SANDSTONE
BASE NOT EXPOSED
Fig. 3c. Lingti Ilill Section, just north otIrriiz,ntiuli and
tion is given in Table 5, and their representative taxa are
shown in Plate IV, figs. I -13.
R£’VII!Z1’I(S : In general, the palynofossils are notdis-
torted, and the composition in the samples of Giingri
Formation is qualitatively diversified, comparable with
the Ranigani palynoassemblage ofDamodar Basin, I ndia
(Tiwari & Singh, I986; R-IA). The most significant fea-
ture at this level is the record of Early Triassic elements,
viz., Limdliladistioriz and Ai’cuatip0llenz’tcs species. These
taxa have been further observed in the overlying Lilang
Group along with typical Lower Triassic taxa, vi7..,
I<l‘flCLlSCliSflUl’lTL’S, a typically northern element, Alispoiitcs, and cf. Cli0rdas;20rites. The faunal remains are abundant and distributed throughout the sequence. The fauna is found both in the nodules as well as in the shale. Lingti Road Section This is an important section because a continuous sequence from Permian to Triassic is exposed here (fig. 3d), which has helped to understand the sequence at the P / Tr boundary. Observations in this section start along the road from the bridge at Lingti River, towards Tabo (location shown in fig. 3c). Out of forty-three samples collected from this section, only six samples have been 1:542 I ; / I finlargo aiirigel/M _ ‘”’ N W E * I ,/ / / \\ _\I/ \ “:Linl’iEamp . \ x‘\I\ I ‘\ A “Q dz‘) \‘\ \ \;M5 \ i \\\> \ \
\)&\$5’¢¢”=.=:= “\ “*’”
4&9 0 –
tin’
NMWWWW. ‘“ 1 E
‘\””
I it
*i Lingti Hill Section
*5 Lingti Road Section ,
\§\
c_g ~_
p .
i715 ,
.-1 ,»
LII ,,_
____%-—.~=@_§;\
\ \\
‘\ 5
\_ .
_r___ \
\_, \ \\
-J”z4 \\
i’ ~54 \
J
‘i“_
> 1
do ‘ ‘=2 ti
I
5
* \
. ,//
-“ Isifl
t\)
,_ .
/5?“
<>.$‘_
. I 0”’;
I “//
Public Ilcaltli Depamneiit Rest Ilouse.
derived from the qualitative assessment anc their char-
acteristic features, is given in Table 6.
R[‘I71Hl‘kS.’ Except few striate – bisaccate pollens, n.
other marker palynotaxa is observed in these tn
sequences. A broader aspect close to lie Barakar
palynoassemblage of the Damodar Basin for the act
determination (Tiwari, I974) may be suggested to tlm
Cechang Formation, more particularly i iith L’pp_
Barakar palynoassemblage. No definitive “omment i~
possible for the Lilang Group palyno—compvisition. Tl”. .
fauna is abundant in this section, particu Jrly in tl‘.
Gechang Formation. The fauna of the Gungri Formatii .‘
is significant and the size of specimens is comparativtl”
smaller. The topmost level of occurrence of brachiop .1
is from the level about 2,85 m below the ct rbonate §\‘
quence of the Lilang Group.
Poh Hill Section
This section is located just north of P.W.D. Rt-t
House at Poh towards the hill (fig. 3f). Although, Car-
boniferous to Triassic through the Permian ire ex pt std
in this section, the observations were confined onlv :
the Carboniferous rocks represented by the Po Forma-

POH HILLOCK SECTION
lUpp.Nadang vill.l
1éSample Nns._ _ _ _ L-—
‘5 , —“~T-‘-1 BLACK SHALE
ilrmsri/18 “__”_ii_”, ii
; 1‘; Ti ;-7 QUARTZITE a smnsrons WITH
5 SHALEBANDS
, / ASH COAL BED WITH PLANT
-L / _”-_–_- ‘_’;;-Q FUSSlL MPRESSIUN
77 T16SPT/27 -if-:-:-‘
BUS
30m
BLACK SPLINTARY SHALE WITH
– -4-: i_< -;– THlN BEDS AND LENSES OF ..-.,—. T”. .“…’.’ SANDSTIINLSANDY SHALE P0 Up Carbon fer >1-r—25m—>t<
: – {—}I—Z
I1. m
_ __,,_ T QUARTZITIE SANDSTONE wmi
SAND INTERCKLATIUN
E :—:—:~:—_- aucx SHALE
Q _ – _ – DOM
4 i_—.__:_
-:_-_*_ 0
<l*§’#k , .__~,::- Q HITH PLANT FOSSIL IMPRESSION SJ! T16SPT/21 -3.‘ .’.’ 11′.‘ QUARTZITE POH—TABO ROAD – 2>
_.
“alsni
Z
\\ ‘-
\\ n
\\’0
Q14
J \<q\0\$
.20 ‘ /
“*–Po as 7 ¢ F4
K”/T7. \\.-\/ ¢/
. I ,
.- /
1/ _ Nadang
– N
r
D “- \
WW “\-. ii
\ Q-. 5 //’
\-* //
r //
lPvb’R.n
1 _/,
P°l1,.”/ *‘ Poh Hill Section
Q *-, Poh Hillock
I ” Section
/,e\
TU uz “//
= =5; = \;
Pamaran 0 1 2km
‘/__/2 Limit;
AL ERNATING SHALE L SANDSTONE
~_~..,\~»v~./v~,w~\,v_A,..
Fig. 3t. Poli Hillock Section, opposite Nadaiig Village, about 2.5 km hum l’ W l_). Rest House at F011 towards Tabo Village.
Poh Hillock Section
This section is located at about 2 km from P,W.D.
Rest House at Foh towards Tabo, opposite Nadang Vil-
lage (Plate l, fig. 4; location shown in fig. 3f). Here also
only the Carboniferous rocks represented by Po Forma-
tion were studied (fig. 3f). lnspite of our efforts, no
palynofossils could be recovered from this section, al-
though a palyno-assemblage of Carboniferous age
(Table 7) was recovered earlier by Khanna and Tiwari
(1983). However, a few plant fossil impressions and
bryozoans were encountered in the field.
Remarks: Falynoassemblage recovered earlier by
one of the Z\L1tl’1OIS (RST) indicated an Early Car-
boniferous age to the upper stratigraphic level of the Po
Formation (Khanna & Tiwari, 1983). This section has
also yielded plant fossils from the levels of the Fo
Formation exposed just on the road. The fauna repre-
sented by bryozoans is poor.
Guling Section
The Guling Section is a classic section showing the
continuous succession from Permian to Triassic (fig. 3 g).
In this section the Permian sequence is represented
mostly by Cechang and Gungri formations. The Gan-
machidam Formation is, however, very thin, The Trias-
sic sequence is quite thick, represented by limestones
and interbedded thinshales. A close sampling, was made
and 35 samples were collected, but none of tht se samples
yielded palynofossils. The Gechang Formation yielded
spiriferids and productids, The limestone-shale unit of
the Lilang Group has yielded ammonoids and bivalves.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
l, Lithostratigraphically, the Carboniferous and
the Permian successions are represented by Kanawa
Group and Kuling Group, respectively. The Kanawa
Group is divisible into the basal Lipak Formation an<
the upper F0 Formation. The Kuling Group is divisibli
into three formations. These, in ascending )i‘Cl(3l’, are :
Ganmachidarn Formation (earlier placed under thi
Carboniferous), C-echang Formationand Gungri Forma
tion. The status of Kuling is raised from Formation to th< level of Group, and those of the Gechang and Gungr from Member to the level of Formation, 2. The presently carried out palynological inves tigations from the Spiti Valley adds to our knowledge 0 palynofossils in the Tethyan sequence of the Himalaya Prior to this record, important data on palynology fron STRATIGRAPHY AND PALYNOLOCY OF CARBONIFEROUS-PERMIAN – TRIASSIC 67 M N Pgar . i T __ *8 Siilillhi I Eungn – /~ – ,¢__ K MikinI‘TP\nt1/’– ‘[019: Ends! / Q,’ I, . /- / —-6″’ :_____ //’ as am /// c i Zkm R‘ I.Khar \\ * u r s ‘ \ ‘Y \ A u mg echun GULlNG SEl1TlON T SAHPli N05 i Q “ESPY/71 – Q O w 0 Z w mnmur svuti mu UHESYDNE ~w Xi L _’:_ unnutm UHESYBNE WITH mm _ _ s amt BANDS __ mzmmr Bums nr smr L r, UHESTDNE P. 5′: 359!“ ‘*1 E L LANG Tr}: S YIGSPT/SS – ,W,,M _ mrmrr mm ms or LIHESYUNE J3, , 5 Aw SHALE awn: EUNJ‘-F”. f Yltisvr/U st 1?; i ,iwimm1FL_;i (up mmmug “:;*_’_§; BUCK suite WWH Pi‘-4 MODULES T‘ T fii : ;–‘- D E B R l 5 / . . 5 nnsvr/u .~, ‘ Wm TL; Z E u ~ — —.~ — Ls ~ :-:=>:– :::2:.a::*;,.:;‘z.;:r,
‘5 § ‘f”’ ‘ Fusslurziinus
EECHANE FM.
Lr_PerlYt
m5
._”§5..“:’:l |:i
_ HIJSPI/L1 . s _ __ _ G
BUFF-BROWN Flissitlmwnl/5 ssi
BLUISH-BREY m uw um rimm-
nlNUt|S sANn§TON{ vim mu urns
, _ _ nf arn smsvnnr n BASAL mar.
_ m 7 GRIHY lN mum: mu (MPAU
* H U n 1nP mu
up ____ Q,
_;r_ it _r.l _ _ fi;mLiu r_At[AREU’_§US WHXTIWF
T2-““” “Y ‘ ” ‘F Y uiinirnrr
lig. 3,; C‘-tiling Section in Pin Valley.
two areas of the same basinal region are known — l.
]ohar area (Tiwari cl al., 1984) and, 2. Niti area
(Tiwari ct al., 1995). In these areas, the Permian and
palynofloras are now known from five sections.
However, only in three sections superimposed succes-
sequences of Permian and Triassic have yielded
and pollen.
ln Niti area, the Upper Permian Kuling Shale
of l-lotigad Shal-Shal Section yielded a
Ics-C12 I05 (SC) complex,
having Dcizsipollcilites, Fauizipallcmtcs,
Satsaizgisaccites, Ki’c1i1pip0llcizitcs and Ar-
‘itcs. ln the same section, about 2.25 m above
topmost sample which yielded Permian palynoflora
above, the Rambakot Member of Lower Triassic
Formation revealed the presence of
(SK) complex having
Kraeusr’lispo1’ites, Plat/for
Goulmzzspora, Arcuatipollcrzifes, cf. Chor-
dr1sp0rz’!cs. This makes a remarkable succession of Upper
Permian – Lower Triassic palynofloras in one individual
section. The SK palyno/one (Sri’iat0p0dorarpitcs- Krem-
pipollcizilcs palyno/one) has been located just below the
Op/iircras bed in the Niti area.
ln l\/lalla lohar area, another Permian-Triassic
palyno-succession has been tagged in the Upper Per-
mian Kuling Shale Formation and the Lower Triassic
Kalapani Limestone Formation of Summa- Sanchamala
Section. However, in the latter the preservation of
palynoinorphs is not satisfactory to make critical assess-
ment, yet the presence ofDcns0is110i”itcs and Ali‘-porirrs is
significant. The Kuling Shale palynoflora comprises SC
palynomne (i.e., 5/rinlopedocarpircs-CrcsccirI.p0llenitss
palyno/one) hence it matches with the flora r f Kuling
Shale in Niti area.
In the presently studied Permian-Triassic sequence
of Spiti Valley, particularly in Lingti Hill Section, the
Upper Permian Gungri Formation (which is supposed
to be equivalent to Kuling Shale of other areas) the SC
palyno/one has been identified. Beside diversified
striate bisaccate pollen, the genera Dcizsmollciizlcs and
Luiidllladispom are also recorded in this zone indicating
the youngest aspect of the Late Permian age. ln the same
section the basal part of the Lilang Group exhibits the SK
palyno/one, having additionally Vc1‘mc0s1’sp0‘i!cs, Ar
crialipelluizilcs, K1″amscIi5;)01-ires, Lurzdbladispora, and the
striate bis-accate components being less divers fied, in-
dit ating .m Early Triassic age.
Further, in Spiti \/alley, the SC palynozone has been
identified in the Late Permian Gungri Formation ex-
posed in C,anmachidam Hill Section. Significantly, an
additional form – Kmifliisuccitcs, has also been recorded.
From the above brief analysis it has become clear
that the palynozone characteristic of the upaermost
Upper Permian is identifiable in the Kuling Shale For-
mation and the Cungri Formation. The definite Lower
Triassic palynozone has been recognized in the Ram-
bakot Member of Shal-Shal Formation and also in the
basal part of the Lilang Group.
The Permo-Triassic palynological change-over is
very evident in the Niti area, i.e. in Kuling Shak Forma-
tion to Shal-Shal Formation, The similar pattern is seen
in Spiti Valley, i.e., from Gungri Formation to Lilang
Group. The Lingti Road and Lingti Hill sections have
yielded Early Triassic elements, viz., Lruldbladis;1o1’a,
kmr?usr’lispel’i’lc’5, Arcmztipolleizitcs Alisporilcs, Chor-
dasporircs. The affinity of Luridblariispnra, Dcns0z’sp01’ites
and Kmcusclispoiitcs, specially their first appearance,
confirms theproximity of Ranigan]-PanchetPassage Bed
(i.e., Permian/Triassic Passage Bed) in the Peninsular
India. However, in Spiti its definite Triassic affinity is

TRILOCHAN SINCH, RS. TIWARI, VUAYA
Table 6 : Lingti Road Section
AND RAM-AWATAR
Gl’Oll})/
l'<< arm a t-ion
I Ion‘ zon
Productive
Fiairyales
$pore—Pol.len
Taplionoinic
Observations
Fauna
Lower
Triassic
Lilang
Group
Upper Gungri
Permian lioririation
Lower
Permian
Cecliang
Formation
‘T l_7SPT/101
‘Tl 7SPT/89, 92
ll 7 SPT /86,
87,l 32,1 33,
l 35
‘T l 7SPT/84
Fniiriipnllcriilrs sp.
F rmrius
5Ii’ii1top0rl0ci1i’;iites sp.
liziiviipallerii/cs ywcxigmis
5lri’rilopadocm7iitrs sp.
DCYlSlPUll€Y1ilE:3 diffiisiis
Iiriinipallenitcs sp.
Sli’ialnp0daoii¢ii’!es drcariis
Ci’@sceri(ipolIsnifes sp.
V rsicrlspam sp.
l/’ci’i’m:osi’spm’i’lrs sp.
l ight yellow brown,
well preserved exine
characters distinct, intact
Dark brown, exine
characters indistinct, ill
preserved, smoothered and
some grains are broken
Ncuspmfri sp.
Moiuloriia sp.
IIll1si’ipcu!rri sp
Cl/ClL7lt7l1ll5 sp
Xcrmpsis sp
Nc0spii’i/bi‘ sp.
I.l7l0Pl’f!l!lCll!S 4″
Pr’i’iwispin1 sp
— Samples yielded fauna
determinations.
3. The impact of taphonomic factors on the
11 trend of palynofloral change in Spiti Valley
ermian to Triassic, indicated by SC palynozone to
palynozone, respectively, is similar to that of the
non-marine sequences (Tiwa ri & Singh, 1986; Tiwari &
Vijaya, 1994) of the Peninsular lndia. The tagging of
marine and non-marine data through common factor of
palynofossils at the P/Tr boundary strengthens the
potential of palynozonation in chrono-stratigraphic
by the cephalopods present in those sedi-
ments which have yielded the palynoinorphs. Thus, the
2 ‘ ’
palynofossils has been revealed by various states of
preservation of exine. Well preserved spores and pollen
from Carboniferous assemblage are dark brown to black
in colour. The specimens are corroded but with intact
exinal characters. The Lower Permian palynomophs
are dark brown having indistinct exine characters,
ill-preserved and broken. In the Upper Permian as-
semblage, the spores and pollen are generally dark
brown with distinct exine structures. Light yellow forms
are also present. It is significant to note that specimens
are mostly intact, and not disintegrated. Few forms
glassy in appearance are also observed. The Upper Per-
mian palynoflora is fairly rich and diversified.
The Lower Triassic assemblage is poorly preserved
and impoverished in forms.
Table 7: Poh Hillock Section
The striking resemblance between tl e P€I‘l’Ill”l’
assemblages of this part of Tethyan sequence and tr
precisely marked palynozones of the Peninsular India
strengthens the earlier opinion (Tiwari & Vijaya, 192*
that the Glossopfsris flora had extended onto t ie northern
margin of the Peninsula upto the Tethys shore. Tllk
population of this flora grew along the sea and probabh
inhabitated the islands as well. However, some in—
fluence of northern elements during Early Triassic is
indicated by the presence of few characteristic spore-
pollen taxa (1<i’aeusclispoi’itcs-Klausipollenites complex) 4-. The lithological characteristics, the faunal content and the palynological assemblage further decipher the nature of change-over at P/Tr boundan Lithologically, a thin ferruginous layer is observed in between the black shale of Gungri Formation and the limestone- shale unit of the Lilang Group at Mandaksa Guling and Lingti road sections. The ferruginous la\ t is 4-6 cm in Mandaksa Section, 5’8 cm in Lingti Road Section (Plate l, fig. 8) and 3-5 cm in Guling Section. Th marker layer, however, could not be observed in Pol Lingti Hilland Ganmachidamsections, possibly because of erosional topography, which Otl’lCl’Wl_‘§( should t present there also. This ferruginous layer is limonitic l nature. ll urizon Formation Productive Spore-Pollen Taphoriomic . Fa una 5fi1Y\Pll!5 Observations Upper Po vide Kl\Z!l’\l\a Vrilivlisporitcs sp. Dark black, Productus sp Carboniferous Formation 5: Tiwari, Diliolisporitrs sp. exine characters not distinct, Dirlasina sp 1933 Rmspam 5P- s ecimens corroded but Bryozoaris _ P Coi-biilispom sp. imam H]/”lCfl0Zfl7l0ll’llE/ES sp. STRATIGRAPHY AND PALYNOLOGY OF CARBONIFEROUS-PERMIAN – TRIASSIC 61.‘ Bhandari at nl. (1992) have shown positive Iridium anomaly in this limonitic layer, and suggested it as a geochemical event marker for P/Tr boundary. This ap- pears to be a global phenonmenon, as similar layer was observed in Guryual Ravine in Kashmir Valley by two of the present authors (TS and RST). Now, the Chinese group has found a clay bed near the Permian-Triassic boundary. Wang Cheng~yuan (1994) has marked this clay bed as the Evento-stratigraphic Boundary in Zhongxin Dadui section in Zheiiang Province. The limonitic layer may also represent a hiatus, probably a break in sedimentation or subaerial weather- ing, and thus it may not be taken as true P/Tr boundary. Bhargava (1987), however, considers the Palaeo/oic- Mesovoic boundary in the Spiti Basin to be characterised by continuous sedimentation, though a sudden change in fauna is manifested. This limonitic layer is, therefore, suggested to represent the Evento-stratigraphic bound- ary in the Spiti Valley, which may here also be very close to the I”/Tr boundary as shown by Wang Cheng-Yuan (1994) is Zhejiang Province of China. As far as the faunal contents, Bhatt cl al. (1980) have shown three layers of ammonoid-bearing black shale in the Gungri Formation, one each at 1.30m, 3.0m and 8.13m, below the Triassic carbonate sequence. The ammonoids, which have the dominance of Ci/clalobus walkeri, have been dated as representing Djulfian Stage. The black shale has also yielded brachiopods. The last occurrence of brachiopods in this sequence is recorded at a level about 2.85 lT\ below the carbonate sequence (Shanker clal.,1993). The limestone-shale unit of the Lilang Group, referred to as the Ot0cc1’as-Ophicrzms bed, on the other hand, has yielded cephalopods (Otocerus, Opliirrras, Gl_i/plopliiceras, etc), bivalves (mainly Claraia), and other micro — fauna (conodonts, osrracodes, foraminifera). The fauna suggests that the Triassic strata have a complete sequence starting from Scythian (Bhatt & joshi, 1981b; Bhatt & Arora, 1984; Bhargava & Gadhoke, 1988). It is, thus, clear that although the Triassic carbonate sequence is fossiliferous almost just at the base, the top 1.30 m layer of Gungri Formation is unfossiliterous. Now it becomes important to look for the age of this 1.30 in unfossiliferous sequence to mark the exact datum line. Does this level correspond to Dorashamian/Changxingian to make the complete suc- cession from Djulfian Stage of Permian to Griesbachian Stage of Triassic? This is more significant in view of presence of the ferruginous layer in between the black shale of Gungri Formation and the overlying limestone- shale unit of the ;Group. Palynologically, the trend of palynofloral change from Permian to Triassic is closely comparable to the Peninsular India. In the international perspective, the scenario of demarcation of I’/Tr boundary is changing fast. Recent- ly, Yin Hong~Fu (1994) reassessed the fa unal changes at P/Tr boundary while proposing the most perfect boundary section in South China. He suggested a con- odont species Hindeadus parvus as the index fossil for basal Triassic, and the base of the H. parvus zone as the Erathem boundary. He further suggested Ot0rz’ras as a potential index fossil but it needs further biostrati graphic and phylogenetic researches at snecies level. It is, thus, evident that in view of latest data intensive analysis is needed in case of 1″/Tr bo the Spiti Valley. It is now recommended here that the Spiti “alley considered a Candidate Point for th€Il1tCl’I1Hll( ‘IDI P/T Boundary Stratotype Section, in view of the ferruginous layer and the FAD of Lun. soisiiorltcs and Airuaripollcrzifes. The other such nised candidates by the International Commission are : i) Meishan Section at Zheijiang, ii) Shangshi Section at Guangyan in m) Xishan Section at Selong in Tibet, and iv) Ravine Section at Kashmir in India. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper forms a search Project between the Geology and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palae ibotany These Institutions provided necessary facilitie* and i tended full cooperation to the authors during the CUL1l>k
of this work.
of the Collabor itive
One of the authors (TS) is grateful to 7r. O.N.
Bhargava for introducing to the area and guiding to
select crucial stratigraphic sections and for purposeful
discussions on the subject matter. The author (TS) is also
grateful to Dr. Ravi Shanker, Prof. I.B. Si ngh and Dr. UK.
Bassi for fruitful discussions pertaining to geological
set-up of the Spiti Valley.
REFERENCES
Bagati, T.N. 1990. Lithostratigraphy and facies variation n the Spiti
lii‘|Sil1(l>£:tl1yS),llI1Y12‘iCl1flll}l‘fiCl€Sl1,I\\C1I£L].I‘II7!1.Ci2l7l., 1 1 35 – 47.
Bhandari, N., Shukla, P.N. and Azmi, R.]. I992. Positi e Iridium
,~\nomaly at the Permo-lriassic Boundary, $piti, lndia. G20]:/1y.
Rrsmr. l..L’l2., 19 (I5) I 1531 – 1534.
Bhargava, O. N. 1987. Fitratigrapliy, microtacies and palaeoenvirorv
inent of l ,ila ng Group (Scythian – Dogger), Spill Valley. llimaclial
llimalaya]. Pnlacuvit. Soc. India, 32 : 92- 107.
Bh.\rgava,O.N. and B;15Si,U.K.1988. llrace fossils from the Palaeozoic
-Mesozoic s0quenceof5piti- Kinnaur(Himachal l limalaya)with
comments on palaeoenvironmentzil control on their t’req\iency.l
G501. Soc. lrldifl, 32 (3) I Z27 – Z38.

71) TRILOCHAN SINGH, RS. TIWARI, VIJAYA AND RAM—AWATAR
Bhargava, O.N. and Gadhoke, S.K. 1988. lriassic micrutauna 01 the
Lilang cmttp with special reference to ‘:icythian—/\nisian (um.
0d0t1tS,Spill Valley, Himachal 1 limalaya 1. Gaol. Sac. India, 32 tr»)
I 494 – 505.
Bhargava,O.N., Srivastava, R.N. and Ga d hoke, S.K.1985 a. Zooplzt/cas
trom Permian Killing litvrtnatimi, llilnachal Ilimalaya, lndia.
Gml Sac. India, 26(2): 137 e 140.
Bhargava,O.N.,Srivastava, R.N. and G:|dhoke,5.K. 19851:. I1ll71/[IL’Sltlt1
from the Kuling Formatinn, Spiti Valley, H.l’., ]. I’aInc0nt. Sac.
India, 30:57 ~ 58.
Bhargava, O.N., Srivastava, R.N. and Gadhoke, S.K. 1991. late
Proterozoic-Pala eozoic Spiti sedimentary basin. In i SK. Tandon,
Cf. Pant and SM. Casshyap (Eds) S£‘lIi1HL‘71It111/ Basins a] India.
Tectonic Cantcxt. Gyanadaya Prakasizan, Nainital : 236 — Z60.
Bhatl, D.K. and Arora, R.K. 1984. O/occr/is Bed at Himalaya and
l’er1nian—’lAriassic Iioundary – Assessment and elucidation \vith
conndont data. ]. G201. Sac. India, 25 (11) : 720 – 727.
Bhalt, D.K., Fuchs, G., Prashara, K.C,, Krystyn, L., Amra, R.K. and
Golebiowski, R. 1980. /\dditi0nal ammonuid layers in the Upper
Permian sequence ut Fipili. Hull. Indian G001. /155., 13 (1) I57 — 6|.
Bhall, D.K. and ]0sl’li, V.K. 197811. Early l.o\vcr Triassic cnnodonts
trmn Fipiti River section, Carr. SCL, 47 (4) : 118 -12L].
Bhatl, D.K, and lcshi, V.K. 197311. A rccord of toraminitcra from the
Lnwer’l”t’ia>4.=ic strata at Spi ti. C|l7’l’. 5:’i., 47 (11)) I 346.
Bhatl,D.K.and]0shi,V,K. 1951 a. /\rt’inskian(l.uu/er l‘ermian)1n5piti,
Tethys l’li.tnalaya. Rflc. Geo]. Snrti. India, 112 (8) :45 — 50.
Bhalt, D.K. and Ioshi, V.K. 1981b. A nnte on the occurrence at
Cl]/plcpmrrias Spath trom Spiti, with preliminary nb.=er\’atiuns on
the tauna of OIacci’as—O;1Iin:ci’as beds. Rm‘. Ccal. Sam India, 112 (3)
I 51 — 54,
Bhatl, D.K., joshi, V.K. and Arura, R.K. 1981a. (‘unuclont nt Otocuras
lied ut 5piti. I. Palaranf Soc. India, 25: l3()—13-1.
Bhatl, D.K., Jushi, V.K. and Arora, R.K, 19911:. .’\icaspatI1arIns
1/i1’aL’knmn|cIIi— a new species of cnnodont trum Lower lriassic of
Spiti. I. Gm]. Soc. India, 22 (9) : 444 – 447.
Diener, C. 1899. Anthracnlithic fossils of Kashmir and Spiti. Palacant.
Inrlica, §er.15, 5(1), pt. 2 :1 – 95.
Diener, C. 1909. Luwer Triassic Cephalupnda from Spiti, Malla luhar
and Byans. Palaeont. Inriica, Ser. 15, 6 (1) : 1 ~ 186.
Diener, C. 1912. The Trias at the Himalaya. Mum. Ccol. Saw. India, 36
(4) : 202 — 360.
Diener, C, 1915. The /\nlhrac0lilhic faunae of Kashmir, Kanaur and
$Pih’. Palacont. Inziica. i\l.§., 5(2) :1 — 135.
Goel, R.K. 1977. l riassic conndonts from Spill (l i.l‘.), India. ]. PaIac0rit.,
51111185 -1103.
Gael, R.K. 1982. Triassic conodont sequence in Spiti. Gaul. Snrzi. India,
I11i5C.P1iIII., 41(Z):2U5 – Z13.
Gothan,W.and Sahni,B. 1 937. Fossil plants from the l’n—Series ofSpiti,
.\lW l limalaya. R£c.Gc0l.Snrzi.India,72 (2) r 1957206.
Griesbach, C.L. 1889. Geological notes — the sequence of formations in
Spiti. Rrc. Gaul. Snrv. India, Z2: 149 » 208.
Hayden, H.H. 190-1. The geology at Spill with parts at Ba.~’hahr and
kupsln1.Mcin.Geo1. Sara. India, 36 (1) : 1 — 124.
Hoeg,O.A., Bose,M.N. and Shukla,B.N.1955.Smnefossilplaiitstroin
the Pu Series 0t’Spiti (N.W. Himalaya). Palamliolanisl, 9: 10 — 13.
Kanwar, S.S. and Ahluwalia, A.D. 1979. Lithnstrat-igraphy at Upper
llalaeozoic ‘| cthyan Sequence in Chandra Valley near llara Lacha
La, District l.ahul and 5piti, Himachal l’radc-sh, India. In 1 V.j.
Gupta (lld.) Contributions to lite Himalayan Cealagy. 1. Upper
l’alaet>7.0ic of the Himalaya. l lindustan Publishers, Delhi : 147 —
153.
Khanna, A.K. and Tiwari, R.S. 1983. luwcr Carbunjferutis tninspnre
assemblage from P0 liormatiun, liclhys llimalaya and its
stratigraphic significance. ]. Faiaconl. Soc. India, 28: 95 — 101.
Lyclekker, R. 1883. The geology nt Kashtnir and Chamba territories
and liritisli District of Khagan. Mcm. gwi. 5ni’z1.In:Iia, 22 : 1 – 34-4.
Oldharn, R.D. 1888. Ihe geology of Northwest Himalaya. Rec. gmi.
Snrti. India, 21 (4):149 – 157.
Ranga Ran, A., Dhar, C.L., jokhan Ram, and Shah, S.K. 1984.
(lnntribntion to the stratigraphy of Spiti. Him. GceI., 12 : 98 — 113.
Shanker, R., Bhargava, O.N., Bassi, U.K., Mishra, R.5., Chopra, S.,
Singh, LB. and Singh, Trilochan 1993. Biustratigrapliic coir
troversy in the Himalaya I an evaluation in |.ahcn\l—.‘ipiti,
llimnchal Pradesh. Indian Minmnls, 47 (4) : 263 — 286.
Srikanlia,S.V. 1981. llhe litliustmtigrapliy, sedimentation and struc—
ture 01′ Pruteruzoiclltanerozoic formations 01 Spiti Basin in the
lligher llimalayaotliimachalPradesh, India. ln1A.K.Sinlia(lid.)
Cmit;-inponvy Gcoscicnlific Rcsmrches in the Himalaya. Mahendra
Pal Singh l’ubl., Dehradun, lndia : 314$.
Srikantia, S.V., Bhargava,0.N. and Kap0or,H.M.1978. A note on the
occurrence at Enrydesnia and Delfcpectcn assemblage from the
Kuling liormation (Permian), Baralacha Ban Area, l..ahaul Valley,
lmnachal Pradesh.] GCOI.SOC.I7l[IIt‘I,19(2)I73 — 78,
Stoliczka, F. 1865. Geological section across the Himalayan Mountain
from Wangton Bridge on the river Sntlej to $\mgdn on the lndus.
with an account ot tnrmations at Spiti accompanied by revision
at all known tr>ssilsf1*o1n that district. Mem.GeaI. Sara. India, 5 1
— 154.
Tewari, A.P. 1959. Two new species of Iicllcrupiton trnm the Pennr —
Car1>0niteruusutSpih’ llimalaya. Rcc. Cwl. Saw. India, B9 (2) ‘ -135
— 4-10.
Tiwari, R.S. 1974. lnterrelatiimsliips oi palynnlloras in the Barakar
Stagfl (Luwer(‘tondwana), lndia. Gcopiiylolagy 4 (‘1) I 111 — 129.
Tiwari, R.S. and Ram-Awatar 1989. 5p0I’aL’ziisp:’I’sae and CUX‘1’Cl£\1lOl1 t ‘
(lnndwana sediments in ]ohiLla Coalfield, Son Valley Crabei
Madhya Pradesh. Palacobulanist, 37 (1) J 94 — 114.
Tiwari, R.S. and Singh, Vijaya 1986. Palynnlugical evidences t~
l’ermu— l riassic boundary in Raniganj Cualtield, l7a|n0dar Bain
India. Bull. Gcol. Min. Me/all. Soc. India, 54 : 256164.
Tiwari, R.S., Singh, Vijaya, Kumar, S. and Singh, I.B. 1‘ ~l
Palynologicalstttdies 01’the’|‘ethyan sequence in Mallajuhar an :
Kumaon l limalaya, India. Palacotiotanisl, 32 (3) : 341 Y 367.
Tiwari, R.5. and Vijaya 1988. Reflection on relationship at Tet‘-vr
paly1\Otlfira.I’t1Ii1E0b0illYliSi, 36 : 339 — 353,
Tiwari, R.S. and Vijay:|1991. Permu-l’riassic boundary on thc lnd .1
Peninsula. ln: Sweet at al. (eds.) » PL’l’lIlO-1111155 u Events 1*
Eastern Tethys, Cambridge Univ. l’-ress I 3745.
Tiwari,R.S.,Vijaya,Mamgain,V.D.andMisra,R.S.1W5 Palynv. 1
cal studies on Late Palaeozaic-Mesnmic Tethyan sequencc
lljmalayas in. Niti area, Uttar Pradesh, India. Rm. Fain. .;
Palynoln (in press).
Wang Chang-yuan 1994. A cmiudnnt based high resnlutiun c\ L
ttvstratigrapliy and biostratigraphy for the l’ermian—’lriai~\
hmndaries in South China. Palaeoworld 4 : 234248.
Waterhouse, ].B. 1986. The l’ermian Cungri Fumtation (:Kuling ‘
Pmductus $hale)and a new Sandstone Membcrin South ZZ1l1>i\
Bull. Indian G201. /155., 15 (Z) I 67 – 78.
Yin, Hung-fu 1994. Re-assessment of the Index l‘(7‘§Sll> at 1
lIa|aeozoic—Me507.oic Boundary. Palacawarld 4: 1’ 3 – 171.

STRATIGRAPHY AND PALYNOLOCY OF CARBONIFEROUSPERMIAN – TRlASS1C

EXPLANATION OF PLATES
Plate I
lethyan Sequence as viewed tmm the l’al\c|\e Plain.
Canmachiclam Hill showing alternate sequence of shale and smiclstoue ofthc
Po Fonnation (Carbunilcrous) in the lower part. lhe middle part represents
the Permian sequence. The peak is representech by thc’l riassic Limestone of
the Lilang Group.
Lingti llill showing Permian — lriassic succession measured during the
present study. As viewed trom the lrrigati on andl’ub1ic Health hut at Lingti
Camp.
P011 lli [luck Section, opposite Naelang Village showing alternate sequence of
shale and sandstone of the Po Formation. View from the P1/VD Rest House
at P011.
Pinch and Swallow structure in the Pu Formation observed in Poh Hill
Section.
$tar Fish in the siltstone recovered trom the Po Formation exposed in
Canmachidain llill Section.
‘l he t’ermginous layer in between the black shale of the Cnngri Formation
and limest0ne—sl\ale unit ot the Lilang Group, in Lingti Road Section.
Calcareuus concretionary nodules in the black shale 01 the Gnngri Formation
in the Lingti Road Section.
Plate II
Representative palynotaxa ot the Cechang Formation from Mandnksa Nala
§ection, Lower Permian (ca x 5001
5lr’il1t0podun1r’pitL’s sp. 1lS1P51icle Nos. 11370, 11365, 11366
Cmdniliml sp. 11511’ S1. No. 11364
ct. lndnlrimnlitrs lmmkmrnsis 11511’ 91. \Io. 11388
Rl1i:al:msp0mmrlica l351l’S1. No. 11362
Clnzmlisporilsssp. B511’ SI. No. 11367
5CllElll’lYIglf7OHEll1tC5lY:1H1k41!’C7l5i5lisllj S1. Nu. 11369
Micro/bvcolnllspnmsp. 11511’ 51. No. 11363
Slrinliles sp. B5117 Sl..\lu.113f\7
M1£1’0bnculis;1um sp. B511’ S1. No. 11376
Crrscerllipullcnzles 5p. B511’ S1. f\lo. 11368
1/zsimspom sp. B511’ Sl.!\lo.11367
cl.AIispo1’ilcs sp. B511’ SI. No. 11360
cf. 7C0l’15:14.‘CitL’s5p. S1. l\’o. 11361
/11l{1IYltlSpfll’ll(‘$ pssnrlazonrrllls B511’ §l.N<v.11363
Dcnsipollmrtcs imiicus 15511’ S1. l\’o. 11367
Plate III
l— 13: Representativepalynotaxa ottl1cGung1‘i Formationtro1nGaru’nachiclam Hill
10
Suction (ca x 500)
Pliclzzipollenilss ivzdicus 15511’ S1,. No. 11371
17m/nipollmilzs sp. B511’ $1. No. 11386
Slrinlites sp. BS1l’ SL.1\’n.11371
Crescenlipallcnitesfuscus B511’ S1. No. 11378
Krempipollcniles sp. B511’ Sl. No. 11371
Crrscmlipollcnilcs Sp. BSIP S1. Nos. 11372, 1137]
Kmnthisnccitrs sp. B511’ S1. No. 11375
I~l1m1ip0IIerriles zwrius 13311351. Nos. 11377, 11371
SM/Itupadacnziviles decoms B511’ S1. Nu. 11375