New Euungulate Fossils from the Middle Siwalik Subgroup of the Potwar Plateau of Northern Pakistan

Abstract

This article provides a detailed taxonomic study of mammalian fossil fauna from five localities situated within the Middle Siwalik subgroup including the Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations in Punjab, Pakistan. Twenty-three euungulate specimens comprised of isolated teeth, and maxillary and mandibular fragments, are described. This collection includes the bovid, Elachistoceras; a very rare faunal element in the Siwaliks of Pakistan, as well as Elachistoceras khauristanensis, Pachyportax latidens, Giraffa punjabiensis, Bramatherium grande, Merycopotamus dissimilis, Dorcatherium minus, Dorcatherium majus, Hippopotamodon sivalense, Sivalhippus theobaldi, Sivalhippus nagriensis and Brachypotherium perimense These fossil remains add important new insights into the taxonomy and diversity of Late Miocene mammal faunas of the Middle Siwaliks. The data is important for understanding the biogeographical and palaeoenvironmental history of the region. The characteristics of the fossils described in this study further support the currently hypothesised presence of a massive open land environment with variable wet and dry seasons alike to that of the current climate in Eurasia and Africa. The variable habitat niches of these co-existing fauna also give further support to the supposition that there was a much more mixed array of palaeoenvironments ranging from a prevalence of woodland to expansive savannah territory during the deposition of Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations.