Hexaprotodon Research Articles

NEW FOSSILS OF SIVATHERIUM GIGANTEUM (GIRAFFIDAE, MAMMALIA) FROM THE UPPER SIWALIKS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

Fossil material of Sivatherium giganteum is reported here from the Upper Siwaliks of the Indian Subcontinent. The paper restricts itself only to the systematic description of this fossil material. The material consists of a half right maxillary second molar and a left mandibular fragment with partial M2 and M3 of Sivatherium giganteum collected from the Tatrot Formation of the Upper Siwaliks exposed north of Gobindpur village near Naraingarh Town (Haryana), northwest India. These specimens were found associated with several Pliocene mammalian taxa, which include Stegodon insignis, Hexaprotodon sivalensis, Leptobos falconeri, and yet to be identified Bovini. The mammalian faunal assemblage suggests an Early Pliocene age for the Tatrot deposits of Upper Siwaliks in the area.The present discovery is significant in the sense that records of Sivatherium giganteum are very rare in the Indian Subcontinent. Moreover, it is for the first time that Sivatherium giganteum is being described from the Upper Siwaliks of the study area.

Matar: A forgotten but promising Pleistocene locality in East Java

Matar is a locality near Ngandong located on the east bank of the Solo River. Archaeological fieldwork in this locality revealed the existence of several ancient alluvial terraces. Fossils and lithic artifacts found embedded on these terraces were in poorly consolidated conglomerate comprising sand and gravels. Faunal remains from Matar consisted of several extinct taxa such as Stegodon trigonocephalus, Bubalus paleokarabau, Bibos paleosondaicus, and Hexaprotodon sivalensis. These fauna represented typical dry and open-woodland environment in the Middle and Upper Pleistocene in Java. In addition, lithic artifacts were found in the same layer and consisted of flake-tools and a small number of crude core-tools. Flake tools from Matar were quite similar to the description of flake-tools found in Ngandong (see Movius Jr., 1948; Van Heekeren, 1972). However, the raw material used was not limited to chalcedony, but included chert and jasper. Our study has revealed that Matar and its surrounding environment is a promising locality, although it has been forgotten for more than two decades since G.J. Bartstra visited this locality for the first time in 1986.

The faunal assemblage of the paleonto-archeological localities of the Late Pliocene Quranwala Zone, Masol Formation, Siwalik Range, NW India

The Indo-French Program of Research ‘Siwaliks’ carried out investigations in the ‘Quranwala zone’ of the Masol Formation (Tatrot), Chandigarh Siwalik Range, known since the 1960s for its “transitional fauna”. This new paleontological study was implemented following the discovery of bones with cut marks near choppers and flakes in quartzite collected on the outcrops. Nine fieldwork seasons (2008–2015) on 50 hectares of ravines and a small plateau recovered lithic tools and fossil assemblages in 12 localities with approximately 1500 fossils. Their study shows that the most abundant mammal species are the Proboscideans with Stegodon insignis. The transition with the Pleistocene fauna is evidenced by Elephas hysudricus, Hipparion antelopinum and Equus sivalensis. The freshwater mammal is also well illustrated with Hexaprotodon sivalensis. Bovids present the greatest variety with six tribes from the smallest to the largest. Two types of cervids are observed; Sivatherium giganteum is visible in several localities and Merycopotamus dissimilis in one. Turtles, with the giant terrestrial Colossochelys and the freshwater Geoclemys, are abundant. The aquatic predators are limited (crocodile) and terrestrial carnivores are very scarce (hyena, felid). The faunal assemblages match the Plio-Pleistocene transitional fauna, also described in the Pabbi Hills (Pakistan), and mark the beginning of the Equus sivalensis Biostratigraphic interval-Zone, which extends from 2.6 Ma to 600 ka. The systematic repetition of surveys has, therefore, allowed the collection of rare taxa, such as Crocuta (2010), Merycopotamus dissimilis (2014) and a large felid (2015). These latest findings are significant for the discovery of Homininae in Siwaliks.

FIRST RECORD OF MAXILLARY DENTITION OF POTAMOCHOERUS THEOBALDI (SUIDAE, MAMMALIA) FROM THE UPPER SIWALIKS OF INDIA

The present paper describes the maxillary dentition of Potamochoerus theobaldi . A well preserved right maxillary fragment with P4-M2 was collected from the Tatrot Formation of the Upper Siwaliks exposed northeast of Khetpurali Village near Raipur Rani (Haryana), Northwest India. The specimen was found associated with several other mammalian taxa, which include Stegodon insignis, Hexaprotodon sivalensis, Camelus sivalensis, Gazella sp., and yet to be identified Bovini. The mammalian faunal assemblage suggests an Early Pliocene age for the Tatrot deposits of Upper Siwaliks in the area. P. theobaldi was probably adapted to a bush land and forest fringe type of habitat. The present discovery is significant in the sense that it represents the first report of the maxillary dentition of Potamochoerus theobaldi from the Indian Siwaliks.

The hippo's tale: how the anatomy and physiology of Late Neogene Hexaprotodon shed light on Late Neogene environmental change

Modern hippopotamuses are strongly dependent on permanent water because of the structure and properties of their skin, and because they forage on vegetation located close to watercourses. In the fossil record of Asia, the disappearance of hippopotamids (best represented by Hexaprotodon sivalensis) during the late Neogene and Pleistocene was due to a dramatic increase in seasonal patterns of rainfall and river flow, which would have resulted in many river systems being dry for months of the year. The lack of permanent water resulted in the disappearance of He. sivalensis from Asia. Heightened seasonality of rainfall resulted from an intensification of the winter and summer monsoons during the period between 3.6 and 2.6 Ma. Because of the exquisite sensitivity of hippopotamuses to the availability of permanent water, well-established dates for the last appearance of He. sivalensis in Asian fossil sequences can be used as direct indicators of the onset of highly seasonal patterns of rainfall and river flow.

Biostratigraphy and geology of the neogene Siwalik group of the Surai Khola and Rato Khola areas in Nepal

An almost complete sequence of Neogene molasse sediments of the Siwalik Group in the Surai Khola (‘khola’ means small river in Nepali) area in Nepal, which was divided into five lithological units, includes the upper part of the Lower Siwaliks, the Middle and the Upper Siwaliks. It discloses a tectonically uncomplicated southern belt (i.e. the Surai Khola sequence) and a tectonically much disturbed northern belt. The Upper Siwaliks at Surai and Rato Khola yield a rich vertebrate fauna, contained within thick bodies of multistoried sandstones. The data from the pollen and plant fossils indicate vegetational changes from tropical evergreen forests in the Lower and Middle Siwaliks to dry, deciduous forests and grasslands by the beginning of the Upper Siwaliks. Biostratigraphically the Upper Siwalik sediments can be compared with the Hexaprotodon sivalensis and the Elephas planifrons Interval Zones of Pakistan and with the Tatrot and Pinjor formations of Northwest India. Palaeomagnetic dating of the Surai Khola sequence indicate a time scale from 13 to ca. 1 million years.

Plio-pleistocene mammals from Gidhniya village Western Nepal

Recently collected vertebrate fossils from the Himalayanfoothills of western Nepal comprise the first diverse Plio-Pleistocene mammal assemblage known from Nepal. Specimens representing Stegodon insignis, Elephas planifrons, Equus sivalensis, Hexaprotodon sivalensis, Cervus sp., and two taxa of bovids are present in this collection from Gidhniya Village. The Gidhniya assemblage is biostratigraphically correlated with the «Pinjor fauna of India and Pakistan; it is between 1.5 and 2.9 million years old.

A biostratigraphic zonation of the middle and upper siwaliks of the potwar plateau of Northern Pakistan

Two biostratigraphic reference sections are designated for the middle and upper Siwalik formations of northern Pakistan. The stratigraphic ranges of 41 mammalian taxa are established in the reference sections and the two sections are correlated to each other and to the standard Magnetic Polarity Time Scale by the magnetic-polarity stratigraphy. The resulting stratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic framework is used to define four contiguous biostratigraphic interval-zones. The proposed interval-zones are bounded by five important faunal events which are identified in the reference sections. The four proposed interval-zones and the approximate ages in the reference sections of their lower and upper boundaries are: (1) the “ Hipparion s.l.” Interval-Zone 7.4–9.5 m.y. B.P.; (2) the Selenoportax lydekkeri Interval-Zone 5.3–7.4 m.y. B.P.; (3) the Hexaprotodon sivalensis Interval-Zone 5.3-2.9 m.y. B.P.; and (4) the Elephas planifrons Interval-Zone 2.9-1.5 m.y. B.P. The paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic evidence indicates that the Tatrot Beds, from which Pilgrim developed his “Tatrot Faunal Zone”, are between 2.5 and 3.4 m.y. B.P., with a preferred maximum age of 2.9 m.y. B.P. The biostratigraphic evidence indicates the Sethi Nagri locality (Y311)—the primary source of Pilgrim's “Nagri Faunal Zone”— is in the “ Hipparion s.l.” Interval-Zone. The paleomagnetic evidence suggests an approximate age of 9 m.y. B.P. A major faunal event at 9.5 m.y. B.P. introduced equids, suids, and large giraffes from Eurasia into the Indain subcontinent. A second, more diffuse faunal event between 5.3 and 2.9 m.y. B.P. introduced several African taxa as well as Equus and cervids from Eurasia.