Panchet Formation

Panchet Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Triassic, Induan PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Supra Panchet Formation
Overlies	Raniganj Formation
Location
Coordinates	23.6°N 87.0°E / 23.6; 87.0
Approximate paleocoordinates	55.5°S 60.2°E / -55.5; 60.2
Region	West Bengal, Jharkhand
Country	India

The Panchet Formation is an Early Triassic geological formation from the Damodar Valley of India.^[1][2]

It is among the few geological formations outside of Russia, South Africa, and China that documents the recovery of global ecosystems immediately after the Permian-Triassic extinction. It shares similar traits to some of these other formations, including the dominance of Lystrosaurus and the primary predators being proterosuchid reptiles. It also preserves a diversity of temnospondyl amphibians.^[3][4]

Palaeobiota

Synapsids

Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Lystrosaurus	L. murrayi				A lystrosaurid dicynodont. Synonyms include L. orientalis and L. rajurkari.
	L. cf. curvatus				A lystrosaurid dicynodont.
	L. cf. declivis				A lystrosaurid dicynodont.
Panchetocynodon	P. damodarensis				A cynodont of uncertain affinity.
Thrinaxodon	T. bengalensis				A thrinaxodontid cynodont.	Considered a nomen nudum. The specimen is lost.

Amphibians

Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
?Benthosuchidae indet.
Capulomala	C. panchetensis				A plagiosaurid temnospondyl.
Gonioglyptus	G. fragilis				A trematosaurid temnospondyl.
	G. longirostris
Indobrachyops	I. panchetensis				A rhytidosteid temnospondyl.
Indolyrocephalus	I. huxleyi				A trematosaurid.
Lydekkerina	L. sp.				A lydekkerinid temnospondyl.
Pachygonia	P. incurvata				Possibly a brachyopid temnospondyl.
Manubrantlia	M. khaki				A lapillopsid temnospondyl
Tupilakosaurus	T. sp				A tupilakosaurid temnospondyl.

Reptiles

Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Samsarasuchus	S. pamelae				A proterosuchid archosauriform.
?"Teratosaurus"	T. bengalensis				A dubious archosauriform represented by a single tooth, formerly considered a rauisuchian but most likely a proterosuchid.[3]
Ankistrodon	A. indicus				Dubious proterosuchid.
Neodiapsida indet.					A non-archosauromorph diapsid, known from an ilium.[4]

Fish

Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Acrolepidae indet.					An acrolepid fish.
Perleididae indet.					A perleidid fish.
Chondrichthyes indet.					A cartilaginous fish.
Ceratodontidae indet.					A ceratodontid lungfish.

See also

• Yerrapalli Formation - Middle Triassic (Anisian?) of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin
• Denwa Formation - Middle Triassic (Anisian?) of the Satpura Basin
• Tiki Formation - Late Triassic (Carnian?) of the Rewa Basin
• Lower Maleri Formation - Late Triassic (Carnian?) of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin
• Upper Maleri Formation - Late Triassic (Norian?) of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin
• Lower Dharmaram Formation - Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian?) of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin

References

1. Romano, Marco; Bernardi, Massimo; Petti, Fabio Massimo; Rubidge, Bruce; Hancox, John; Benton, Michael J. (2020). "Early Triassic terrestrial tetrapod fauna: a review". Earth-Science Reviews. 210: 103331. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103331.
2. Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Ray, Sanghamitra (2020-03-01). "Gondwana Vertebrate Faunas of India: Their Diversity and Intercontinental Relationships". Episodes. 43 (1): 438–460. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2020/020028. ISSN 0705-3797.
3. Ezcurra, Martín D.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Sengupta, Dhurjati P.; Sen, Kasturi; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Sookias, Roland B.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Butler, Richard J. (25 October 2023). "A new archosauriform species from the Panchet Formation of India and the diversification of Proterosuchidae after the end-Permian mass extinction". Royal Society Open Science. 10 (10). doi:10.1098/rsos.230387. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 10598453. PMID 37885992.
4. Ezcurra, Martín D.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Sen, Kasturi (March 2022). "A new faunistic component of the Lower Triassic Panchet Formation of India increases the continental non-archosauromorph neodiapsid record in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction". Journal of Paleontology. 96 (2): 428–438. doi:10.1017/jpa.2021.100. ISSN 0022-3360.