Palynology of the Palaeozoic coals of the state of São Paulo. II - The Monte Mor coal

Abstract

This paper is a second contribution to the palynological study of the Palaeozoic coals of the Itararé Subgroup in São Paulo State, in the Northeast Paraná Basin. It comprises a systematic description of twenty-six species of spores and pollen grains from coal and silty-coal sampIes of Monte Mor, from where only macrofloristic data are well known. Among the taxa studied, three are reported for the first time from the Paraná Basin: Punctatisporites resolutus Playford, 1971 and Apiculiretusispora sp. cf. A. coalescens Menéndez & Azcuy, 1973. The majority ofthe taxa studied from Monte Mor has also been reported in the Buri and Araçoiaba da Serra assemblages, suggesting that the Monte Mor deposits are correlative with the latter assemblages, thus placing the three in the informal "Pré-G" interval. Outside Brazil, the sole possibility of palynological correlation is with the Carboniferous palynozones of the Paganzo Basin, Argentina. A Westphalian age is attributed to the Monte Mor coal, as had been suggested for those from Buri and Araçoiaba da Serra. The frequencies of the main morphographic groups are presented in order to give paleoecological information. Some geological and stratigraphic aspects are also discussed