1881.] fossils of tlie Indian Qondwana system. 1G0 



From Chutia Nagpur these rocks stretch into the valley of the Sone, 

 constituting the great South Rewah basin. By a narrow band of the top- 

 most group passing by Jabalpur, this area is connected with the large basin 

 in the Satpura range* on the west side of which the stratified series passes 

 under the trap rocks of the Deccan. Some few inliers have also been 

 detected beneath the trap further to the west in the Narbada valley. 



Far to the west, plant-bearing rocks of the Gondwana system (the 

 Umia group) have long been known to exist in Cutch (Kach), while recently 

 rocks of the same age were discovered in the peninsula of Kathiawar by 

 Mr. Fedden.f 



This northern main area of the Gondwana deposits has two southern 

 extensions. The South-Rewah basin continues through SirgujaJ into the 

 Raigarh and Hingir coalfields, S. W. Bengal, towards the Talchir coalfield 

 (Orissa) and the Athgarh§ area below Cuttack (Katak). 



From the Satpura basin in a southern direction we meet with rocks 

 of this system in the neighbourhood of Nagpur, || whence they extend into 

 the valleys of the Wardah^f and Godavari rivers,** down to Rajamahendri. 



From the Delta of the Godavari detached patches of these rocks occur 

 also along the coast of the Carnatic (Karnatik) to Trichinopoli.ff All 

 these deposits are within the peninsular area of India. 



Only a small portion are found in the extra-peninsular area, i. e., along 

 the base of the Eastern Himalayas, in Sikkim and Upper Assam. 



The proper knowledge of this system is almost entirely due to the 

 labours and exertions of the officers of the Geological Survey, as the 

 number of writers, unconnected with the Survey, who have worked at either 

 the geology or palaeontology, or contributed to the collections is but a limited 

 one. To these latter I shall refer at first. In 1828 A. Brongniart de- 

 scribed in his " Histoire des vegetauxfossiles," two species of Glossopteris, 

 this was the earliest mention of this interesting genus. Professor Goppert 

 in his " Systema filicum fossilium 1836," also described Glossopteris. Pro- 

 fessor Royle in his Illustrations of the Botany &c, Himalayan Mountains, 

 1839, established four species from the coal-bearing rocks of the Rani- 

 ganj coalfield, all four of more or less interest. Professor Morris in 



* Quoted hereafter always as Satpura "basin. 

 f Feistmantel, Eecords G. S. India, Vol. XIII, p. 1, pp. 62-64. 

 X The Ramkola-Tatapani coalfields. 

 § Atgarh sandstone. 

 || Nagpur area. 



If Wardha valley coalfield (Upper Godavari basin.) 

 ** Middle and lower Godavari basin. 



ff Here we have the South Kistna district (Vemaveram) the Sripermatur area 

 (near Madras) and the Trichinopoli plantbeds (Utatur.plantbeds), 



