BUGDAEVA E.V., NOSOVA N.V., SUN G., LIANG F., GOLOVNEVA L.B., SONG Y.
Tikhookeanskaya geologiya 2026; 45(3): 105–117
It has been established that the main coal-forming plants of the Lipovtsy Formation of the Razdolnaya Basin in southern Primorye of Russia, the Dongning Formation of the Dongning Basin and the Muling Formation of the Laoheishan Basin in the Heilongjiang Province of China were various ferns, bennettites Nilssoniopteris rhitidorachis and Pterophyllum sp., and conifers, dominated by Miroviaceae. They accumulated to form resinites in this region. The dominance of Miroviaceae (plants characteristic of high-latitude floras) and species richness of the bennettites (indicators of thermophilicity) are hard to explain. The paleoenvironments of the Razdolnaya, Dongning and Laoheishan basins in the Aptian were highly stressful, as evidenced by the dominance of Miroviaceae (which are characterized by adaptations to unfavorable existence conditions), as well as finds of Tarphyderma (Cheirolepidiaceae) and the first angiosperms. The discovery of megaspores of aquatic ferns Balmeisporites in the Dongning Formation indicates the deposition proceeded in fresh or brackish water bodies that developed in warm and humid conditions. Small fragments of light-yellow resin were found in the carbonaceous interbed of the Donning Formation, the producers of which were conifers Pinaceae or Taxodiaceae. It is possible that coniferous forests, resin producers, developed in the Aptian to spread throughout the territory of present-day Northeast China and Transbaikalia. A comparison of coal-forming plants of Jurassic resinites from the Tkvarcheli deposit in Republic of Abkhazia (South Caucasus) revealed that despite the difference in age, their ratio is the same as that of the Far Eastern resinites, that is, Miroviaceae ( Mirovia oskolica ) dominate with bennettites contributing significantly.
