Novas ocorrências de Glossopteris na formação Rio do Rasto (Bacia do Paraná, Permiano Superior)

Abstract

This paper describes 10 species of Glossopteris from 20 previously unreported outcrops of the Upper Permian Rio do Rasto Formation (Passa Dois Group, Paraná Basin) in the states of Parana and Santa Catarina, Brazil. The record of all 15 previously described species of this genus in this formation was formerly restricted to only 3 outcrops. The species here described are: G. riorastensis, G. grafi, Glossopteris cf. G. singinervis, Glossopteris, Glossopteris cf. G. indica, Glossopteris cf. G. surangei, Glossopteris cf. G. taeniopteoides, Glossopteris sp. 3 and Glossopteris sp. 4. The last 4 species have not been recognized previously within this formation. Of the 19 species of Glossopteris now know from the Rio do Rasto Formation, only 7 are similar enough to forms described from other Gondwana regions to permit evaluation of possible equivalence. The closest similarity is with forms from the Raniganj Stage of India, although information on Glossopteris in chronostratigraphically equivalent units from other Gondwana regions is very meager.