Abstract
The Tertiary sediments of northern Pakistan are an exceptional record of terrestrial sedimentation and represent most of Neogene time. Foremost is the Siwalik Group of the Potwar Plateau, for which multiple, superposed fossil levels span ∼18–6 Ma. Well-developed magnetostratigraphic control provides secure dating so that Siwalik fossil horizons may be interpolated into a time scale with resolution to 100,000years. We describe the geographic setting of the Potwar, give an overview of the temporal distribution of faunas, and discuss changes in paleohabitat and paleoecology with coinciding faunal change, as seen from the Siwalik viewpoint. The long Siwalik biostratigraphy of many successive assemblages with its resolved time scale may be compared directly with other well-dated sequences. Immigrant arrival and timing of faunal change may be traced. The basins of the Iberian Peninsula show somewhat different timing of introduction of hipparionine horses, and faunal turnover in the Siwaliks clearly precedes the Vallesian crisis in Spain. In contrast to the increasingly seasonal precipitation of the late Miocene Potwar, the paleohabitat of coeval North China appears to have been moist and equable, with high diversity faunas. Continued development and comparison of resolved Neogene records allow increasing resolution of the patterns of faunal change on regional to global levels.
Highlights
The relatively continuous process of sediment accumulation under conditions favorable for vertebrate fossil preservation has created a series of fossil horizons, superposed and laterally extensive, spanning much of the second half of the Cenozoic Era
The most continuous series of superposed fossil horizons is contained in the Siwalik deposits of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan
We have developed in excess of 100 productive screen washing horizons throughout Siwalik Group rocks
Summary
Fossil collecting involved a gradual realization that fossil resources across the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent are considerable. Cautley and Falconer (1835). Magnetic reversal stratigraphy has been applied successfully in northern India (Patnaik, 2013), and to Plio-Pleistocene deposits east of the Potwar, in Pakistan (e.g., Keller et al, 1977) and to the early Miocene of the Zinda. Beginning in the late 1970s (Munthe et al., 1979) and primarily during the 1980s (Wessels et al, 1982), fieldwork focused on early to middle Miocene deposits near Mianwali and Banda Daud Shah (Indus Valley west of the Potwar), the Manchar Formation of southern Pakistan (Figure 1, area 5; Wessels, 2009), and Pliocene-Pleistocene deposits southeast of the Potwar Plateau (Hussain et al, 1992). De Bruijn et al (1981) documented the -oldest-known, early Miocene small mammal assemblage from the Murree Formation at Banda Daud Shah These teams maintained strict control of faunal associations as they carefully documented the localities. The work showed that observed faunal assemblages extended throughout Pakistan (homotaxis), albeit with some local differences
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
