LATE PERMIAN PALYNOMORPH ASSEMBLAGES FROM UFIMIAN AND KAZANIAN TYPE SEQUENCES IN RUSSIA, AND COMPARISON WITH ROADIAN AND WORDIAN ASSEMBLAGES FROM THE CANADIAN ARCTIC

Tentative biostratigraphic correlations, based on marine faunas, have been made by various workers between Ufimian and Kazanian sequences in their type areas in the Volga-Urals region of Russia and Roadian and Wordian sequences in their type area in Texas, United States. Unfortun ately, palynological correlation between the Russian and United States sequences is not possible, due to lack of data from the latter. Howev er, detailed palynological data are available from rocks of Roadian an d Wordian age in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and therefore indire ct correlations are possible. Palynomorph assemblages from the Canadia n Arctic and other circumpolar areas, such as the southern Barents Sea and Greenland, are different from those of the Ufimian and Kazanian R ussian sequences in their type areas. This is likely to be the result of variations in the parent flora in response to significant paleoclim atic differences. For example, the climate of the Volga-Urals region i n Late Permian times was probably hot and arid, whereas that of the Ca nadian Arctic, Barents Sea, and Greenland was cooler and probably more humid.