Joseph J.M. L e i n d e r s 1, Mohammad A r if2, Hans de Bruijn3, S . Taseer Hussain4 & Wilma We s s e l s 3 1 Open Unive r s i t y, H e e r l e n 2 Geological Survey of 3 Faculty of Earth Sciences, U t re c h t 4 H ow a rd Unive r s i t y,Washington DC

Te rt i a r y continental deposits of Nort h we s t e r n Pakistan and remarks on the collision betwe e n the Indian and Asian plates

Leinders, J.J.M., Arif, M., De Bruijn, H., Hussain, S.T. & Wessels, W., 1999 - Tertiary continental depo- sits of Northwestern Pakistan and remarks on the collision between the Indian and Asian plates - in: R e u m e r, J.W. F. & De Vos, J. (eds.) - EL E P H A N T S H AV E A S N O R K E L! PA P E R S I N H O N O U R O F PA U L Y. SO N D A A R – DEINSEA 7: 199-213 [ISSN 0923-9308]. Published 10 December 1999

The initial docking of the Indian Subcontinent with Asia resulted in the west-to-east closure of the Tethys sea. As a consequence the oldest continental sediments were deposited in the west. This event is documented by the presence of an earliest Eocene mammalian fauna located on the westernmost edge of the Indian Subcontinent (H-GSP 300). Since this fauna has Eurasian affinities, it documents the time of contact between the continental crusts of the two plates. All other Eocene mammalian faunas known from the northern part of the Indian Plate are located more eastward, are younger in age and show local endemism. Eocene sedimentation in the northern part of the subcontinent was succeeded by a period of erosion, with sedimentation not recommencing until early , as documented by the rodent fauna from the base of the Murree Formation (locality H-GSP 116).

Correspondence: Joseph J.M. Leinders, Open University of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands; Mohammad Arif, Geological Survey of Pakistan, P.O. Box 15, Quetta, Pakistan; Hans de Bruijn & Wilma Wessels: Institute of Earth Sciences, P.O. Box 80021, 3580 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands; S. Taseer Hussain, Howard University, Department of A n a t o m y, Wa s h i n g t o n D.C. 20059, U.S.A.

Keywords: Pakistan, Indian subcontinent, Siwaliks, paleobiogeopgraphy

I N T RO D U C T I O N The Howard University - Geological Survey described (De Bruijn et al. 1981 and 1982, of Pakistan project (H-GSP) started the inves- Wessels et al. 1982, Thewissen et al. 1 9 8 3 , tigations in the Banda Daud Shah area (Fig. Maas et al. in prep.). The geology of the 1) in 1976. A stratigraphic section south of Kohat Quadrangle has been described by Banda Daud Shah was studied and fossil Meissner et al. (1974) and Pivnik & We l l s mammals were collected during several field (1996). Wells (1983) reported on the sedi- seasons. The sediments in this section range mentology of the Eocene redbeds near Banda in age from early Eocene to late Miocene. Daud Shah. D i fferent faunal assemblages have either been

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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the village of Banda Daud Shah (Figs. 1 and the reconstruction of the geological and pale- 2), Kohat, Northwest Frontier Province ontological history of the northern rim of the ( N . W. F.P). The southern limb of the anticline Indian plate during the Eocene-Miocene just south of Banda Daud Shah dips towards interval. This is achieved by studying a sec- SSE at an angle of about 60 degrees. tion which is located in the southern part of H o w e v e r, the dip of the beds increases and an eastward plunging anticline just south of eventually they are overturned toward the

Figure 1 Geological sketch-map of the area south of Banda Daud Shah.

200 LEINDERS et al.: continental deposits of Northwestern Pakistan

west. The sediments in the core of the anti- Barbara Banda I is about 55 m below the cline have been deformed tectonically, espe- contact between the Mami Khel Clay and the cially in the overturned part of the anticline. overlying Kohat Formation. The Barbara We are aware of the fact that formation Banda (I and II) locality has yielded the fol- names of various lithostratigraphic units of lowing taxa: the Siwalik Group should not be used outside the type areas. Since it is beyond the scope of R o d e n t i a this paper to review the lithostratigraphy of C o c o m y i d a e the Kohat Quadrangle, we will use the same gen. indet., sp. I and II lithostratigraphic names as suggested by P a r a m y i d a e Meissner et al. ( 1 9 7 4 ) . gen. and sp. indet.

E O C E N E A r t i o d a c t y l a The continental redbeds exposed in the core D i c h o b u n i d a e of the Banda Daud Shah anticline were map- Diacodexis pakistanensis TH E W I S S E N et al. 1 9 8 3 ped as the Mami Khel Clays by Meissner e t a l . (1974). Wells (1983) considered the Mami P r i m a t e s Khel Clays as part of the Kuldana Formation O m o m y i d a e representing the same regressive phase as the K o h a t i u s sp. RU S S E L L & GI N G E R I C H 1 9 8 7 ‘ c l a s s i c ’ Eocene mammal bearing deposits in the Kala Chitta Hills, west of Rawalpindi (see P e r i s s o d a c t y l a also Dehm & zu Oetingen-Spielberg 1958, A new Isectolophid Tapiroid, MA A S et al. in prep Hussain et al. 1978 and West 1980). Pivnik & Wells (1996) grouped the Mami Kehl Clays The following suggestions are made based on and the Kuldana Formation in a new litho- the fauna: stratigraphic unit: the Mami Khel Formation, 1 Diacodexis pakistanensis is the smallest with a synchronous age throughout the Kohat and most primitive artiodactyl yet known. It - Rawalindi area (late early Eocene). T h e retains a clavicle, has five complete digits in Mami Khel Clay in the Banda Daud Shah the manus and four in the pes and it is digiti- area consists mainly of a brownish-red to red grade (Thewissen et al. 1983, Thewissen & coloured silty clay sequence with intercalat- Hussain 1990). ions of thin sandy channels containing cal- 2 The Perissodactyl from Barbara Banda is crete nodules. Wells (1983) reported that the the most primitive tapiromorph known from Kuldana Formation consists of about 95% red the Indian subcontinent (Maas et al. in prep.). mudstone and 5% channel sands. The presen- 3 The rodent material from Barbara Banda ce of numerous calcrete nodule beds and the indicates the presence of a relatively diverse absence of coarse clastics in the Mami Khel fauna, with representatives of the Paramyidae Clay (as well as in the Kuldana Formation in and the Ctenodactyloidea. The latter group the Kala Chitta Hills) indicates the presence probably is ancestral to the Chapattimyidae of extensive and flat floodplains. (De Bruijn et al. 1982), which are reported from the Eocene deposits near Chorlakki Two localities with vertebrate fossils have ( H a r t e n b e rge r 1982 and Gingerich et al. been reported from the Mami Khel Clay, 1979) and Kala Chitta (Hussain et al. 1 9 7 8 ) . south of Banda Daud Shah: Barbara Banda I The comparison of a very primitive (code indication H-GSP 300) and II (De Ctenodactyloid from Barbara Banda with an Bruijn et al. 1982, Thewissen et al. 1 9 8 3 ) . unpublished association of Chapattimyidae The thickness of the redbeds near Mami Khel from a locality near the base of the Kuldana is about 130 m (Meissner et al. 1 9 7 4 ) . Formation at the Jhalar section in the Kala

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Figure 2 Diagrammatic section of the Te r t i a r y sediments near Banda daud Shah (after Meisssner et al. 1 9 7 4 ) . The fossil localities are plotted by us.

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Chitta Hills (loc. H-GSP 223) suggests that These emersion horizons consist partly of the former locality is much older than the thin gypsum beds and some major lignite l a t t e r. The association from locality H-GSP intervals. Generally, the Kuldana deposits in 223 is quite similar to the one described the Kala Chitta area consist of thick mudsto- from locality H-GSP 144 in the Kala Chitta nes with intercalations of thin sandy chan- area (Hussain et al. 1978), but very diff e r e n t nels and thin bedded lacustrine limestones from that of Barbara Banda. containing abundant P l a n o r b i s . The upper part of the shallow marine sediments mainly We consider the Barbara Banda fauna to consists of thick marls (about 200 meters) represent the early part of the early Eocene with abundant Foraminifera. The upper shal- rather than the late early Eocene as sugge- low marine interval shows a more restricted sted by Thewissen et al. (1983) on the basis marine character as can be seen from the of a global regression of the sea near the intercalations of numerous thin gypsum end of the early Eocene (see also Pivnik & beds. These ‘nummulitic shales’ are general- Wells 1996). An earliest Eocene age corro- ly considered as a third member of the borates with the evolutionary stage of the Kohat Formation: the Sadkal Member various mammalian groups and solves the (Meissner et al. 1974). The type area of this dilemma reported by Thewissen et al. ( 1 9 8 3 , member is located in the Kala Chitta Range. p. 175): ‘Also, there is still uncertainty In the Kohat quadrangle, this member of the about the exact age of the Barbora Banda Kohat Formation can only be recognised in faunule. If it is late early Eocene, the Northeast between the Kaladhand and Diacodexis pakistanensis would be younger the Habib Rahi Members (Meissner et al. than the Wasatchian North American forms. 1974). Both latter members of the Kohat In this case it might be a relict form, prolon- Formation are not present in the Kala Chitta ging to a certain degree the primitive state.’ area.

Although the Eocene rock sequences in Because of lithological differences it is not various areas show resemblances, apprecia- possible to trace the lithological units all the ble differences in lithology are present. way from Kuldana to Barbara Banda Freshwater limestone beds, variegated clays ( H a r t e n b e rger 1982: fig. 1). It is therefore and oyster beds are present in the Kala not correct to include all the Eocene conti- Chitta area, but they do not occur in Barbara nental deposits in northern Pakistan in the Banda. The red beds in the latter area are same formal formation (Kuldana Formation, overlain by 75 metres of marine limestones Thewissen et al. 1983 or Mami Khel (the Kohat Formation), of which the lower Formation, Pivnik & Wells 1996). part consists of thinly bedded compact lime- Furthermore, the redbeds in the diff e r e n t stones and shale beds (Kaladhand Member) areas may well represent the development of and the upper part of thick bedded, massive more or less the same (continental) at and cliff forming limestone (Habib Rahi d i fferent times. The late early Eocene age of Member). In the Kala Chitta Range (e.g. in the redbeds near Banda Daud Shah suggest- the section near Jhalar railway station) the ed on the basis of lithology (Russell & Zhai Kuldana deposits are overlain by yellow, 1987, Pivnik & Wells 1996) and a supposed soft shales and marls with abundant larg e world wide regression (Gingerich et al. Foraminifera. The thickness of this lower 1983, Thewissen et al. 1983) is certainly not shallow marine interval at Jhalar is around convincing. 200 m and is separated from the upper shal- low marine interval by a succession which Wells (1983) explained the relatively small consists of numerous emersion horizons. number of taxa and the presence of articula-

203 ELEPHANTS HAVE A SNORKEL! DEINSEA 7 1999

ted bones in Barbara Banda as an entrapment between 55 and 45 My; see Wensink 1975) of a herd of D i a c o d e x i s accompanied by corroborates the idea that the continental some other animals by a sudden flood. T h i s crusts of the two plates collided during the interpretation seems questionable because it earliest part of the Eocene. is not known whether or not these small artiodactyls lived in herds, and does not The differences in composition of the faunas explain that the same faunal composition is from the Eocene deposits of the northern part reported from two different localities of the Indian subcontinent have been inter- (Barbara Banda I and II). It also does not preted as resulting from different ecological account for the presence of a primitive circumstances rather than from differences in Perissodactyl in Barbara Banda, which is age (West 1980, Wells 1983). Hartenberg e r absent in the Kala Chitta area and extremely (1982) discusses the Eocene rodent assembla- rare in the intensively exploited locality ges and concludes that the faunas from Chorlakki (one premolar of an isectolophid Pakistan are contemporaneous, but that has been reported by Thewissen et al. 1 9 8 7 ) . ‘Kalakot and Mekta in India may be more It also does not account for the diff e r e n c e r e c e n t . ’ We agree with Thewissen et al. between the rodent associations of Barbara (1987) that the faunal differences are due to Banda and these two localities (De Bruijn e t d i ffe rences in age and consider the Barbara a l . 1982). Therefore, we conclude that appre- Banda fauna of earliest Eocene age, and the ciable differences in age exist between the Chorlakki, Kala Chitta and Kalakot faunas of various Eocene continental deposits in north- younger early and middle Eocene age (see ern Pakistan and that the deposits near Banda Table 1). Daud Shah are the oldest yet known. The evidence provided by land mammals The reconstruction of the collision between suggests that the (near) collision between the the continental crusts of the Indian and Indian and Asian plates took place around 55 Asiatic plates by Tapponier et al. (1981: fig. ma. At that time the position of the northern 5), based on geologic and structural evidence, edge of the Indian subcontinent was near the shows a near collision about 50 My. This date equator (Klootwijk 1979, Klootwijk et al. is confirmed by Haq (1989). Klootwijk 1985). Consequently, the southern edge of the (1979: fig. 6) and Klootwijk et al. (1985: fig. Asian plate must have been near the equator 3), however, suggested a far more southern too and it was after the collision that the position (near the equator) of the northern Asian plate moved further north. The sug- rim of the Indian plate at the beginning of the gested time difference between the western and Eocene (about 55 My) than Ta p p o n i e r. T h e the eastern Eocene continental deposits in the composition of the diverse land mammal northern part of the Indian subcontinent cor- assemblages of the Chorlakki and the Kala roborates the idea that the first contact Chitta localities indicates that faunal exchan- between the Indian and Asian plates took ge with Eurasia was possible during the place at the north-western part of the Indian deposition of these redbeds. The fauna from plate followed by a counter-clockwise rota- Barbara Banda only contains a limited num- tion of the subcontinent (Klootwijk et al. ber of taxa (unbalanced fauna) which sug- 1985) resulting in the closure of the Te t h y s gests limited faunal exchange (by ‘sweepstak e ’ seaway from west to east. However, or ‘island-hopping’ route) during the earliest Klootwijk et al. (1985) conclude: ‘collision Eocene, indicating that the Indian plate was between Greater India's northern boundary very close to Asia. The sudden drop in the and southern Asia occurred at equatorial lati- rate of seafloor spreading in the Indian Ocean tudes, with progressive suturing from at about 55 My (practically no spreading Paleocene in the north-western Himalayans

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Ta ble 1 Faunal distri bution on the Indian subcontinent during the Eocene (Barbara Banda being the we s t e rnm ost and Kalako t the easternmost locality).

until early Eocene in the eastern.’ This is and Siwalik Groups. slightly older than we have concluded on the basis of the mammalian faunas. M u rree Fo r m a t i o n The top of the Habib Rahi Limestone (Upper M I O C E N E member of the Kohat Formation) shows a The thick continental deposits of the weathered surface of 3-4 meters thickness sub- contain an almost uninterrup- (Fig. 3), which indicates a period of non- ted record of the last 20 million years history deposition before the deposition of the of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. We follow Murree Formation. The measured section Hussain et al. (1979) and consider these along the southern limb of the anticline deposits to belong to the Siwalik Group, un- shows a 30 meters thick sequence of the like Meissner et al. (1974) and Pivnik et al. Murree Formation. Meissner et al. ( 1 9 7 4 ) (1996), who divided them into Rawalpindi measured a thickness of 5 meters assuming

205 ELEPHANTS HAVE A SNORKEL! DEINSEA 7, 1999

Figure 3 Sedimentological log of the Murree Formation south of Banda Daud Shah.

206 LEINDERS et al: continental deposits of Northwestern Pakistan

that the first massive channel sandstone nel-system. Whether or not the red clays on belonged to the overlying Kamlial Formation. top of the Kohat Formation near Banda Daud H o w e v e r, in the Murree sequence several Shah should be regarded as a separate forma- intercalations of thin channel sandstones can tion, it is evident that they represent the be observed within the thick reddish mudsto- beginning of the Neogene sedimentation in ne interval. These channel sandstones occa- the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. sionally display well developed tabular cross- The rodent fauna from a thin caliche bed bedding (current direction to the east) and about two meters above the contact between contain abundant redeposited calcrete nodules the Kohat and Murree Formations (locality (Fig. 3). The thick reddish mudstone intervals H - G S P 116; De Bruijn et al. 1981) is of inte- also contain abundant calcrete nodules. T h e rest for dating the beginning of the Neogene entire sequence is moderately bioturbated sedimentation. (Fig. 3); however, the channel sandstones are generally more intensely bioturbated. T h e The Murree formation near Banda Daud Shah transition into the Kamlial Formation is sud- has yielded the following rodent taxa: den and consists of parallel laminated medi- um-grained sandstone beds. This sandstone is R h i z o m y i d a e heavily eroded by the overlying thick channel P rokanisamys arifi D E BR U I J N et al. 1 9 8 1 sandstone body, which we consider to belong C r i c e t i d a e to the Kamlial Formation. Its lithology is dis- Primus micro p s D E BR U I J N et al. 1 9 8 1 tinctly different as it contains much less cal- Spanocricetodon khani D E BR U I J N et al. 1 9 8 1 crete nodules and quartz components. Spanocricetodon lii D E BR U I J N et al. 1 9 8 1 G e n e r a l l y, the Kamlial Formation consists of C h a p a t t i m y i d a e lithic sandstones; the Murree Formation F a l l o m u s sp. Flynn et al. 1 9 8 6 h o w e v e r, consists of quartz sandstones. C t e n o d a c t l i d a e Sayimys minor D E BR U I J N et al., 1 9 8 1 The red clays assigned to the Murree T h r yonomyidae indet. Formation overly the Kohat Formation Sciuridae indet. u n c o n f o r m a b l y. They mark the beginning of the continental (fluviatile) sedimentation and The association of rodents from the Murree the time the Siwalik Basin came into existen- Formation is dominated by Muroidea and ce. This basin became a catchment area for according to Downing et al. (1993) resembles the erosional products from the initial the fauna from the base of the upper unit of the Himalayan uplift. Meissner et al. (1974) con- Chitarwata Formation in Baluchistan. Both sider these 5-10 meters (in our opinion 30 fauna's share only one genus (Fallomus) with meters) of red clays as Murree Formation. the next older association from the lower unit H o w e v e r, it may be noted that in the Kala (= Bugti member, Raza & Meyer 1984) of the Chitta area the Murree Formation is much Chitarwata Formation (Flynn et al. 1986, thicker (3000 meters; Shah 1977) and con- Downing et al. 1993). Downing et al. (1993) sists of monotonous series of sandstone, silt- report an age of 20.5 My for the basis of upper stone and shale. In the Jhalar section (Kala unit of the Chitarwata Formation based on Chitta area), the base of the Murree paleomagnetic data (Friedman et al. 1992). Formation consists of a very thick cross-bed- Although correlation of the endemic Bugti ded channel sandstone with abundant redepo- fauna from the lower unit of the Chitarwata sited larger Foraminifera. The base of the Formation - containing Chapattimyidae only - channel sandstone is strongly erosive and remains uncertain, Raza & Meyer (1984) and probably a large part of the Kohat Formation Flynn et al. (1986) assign it to the early Miocene. below has been eroded by the Murree chan- The correlation of the association from the

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Murree (and that of the upper unit of the Kamlial Fo r m a t i o n Chitarwata Formation) with biostratigraphical The Kamlial Formation near Banda Daud zonations developed outside the Indian sub- Shah is 525 meters thick and primarily con- continent is difficult. However, the succes- sists of medium grained, greenish gray sand- sion of rodent faunas from Central A n a t o l i a , stones with crossbedding. The sandstones Turkey (Sümengen et al. 1989) contains two contain abundant mica and dark minerals. faunal elements that are similar to the taxa Most of the sandstone bodies are single or described from the Murree Formation near composite fluvial channel complexes. In the Banda Daud Shah. Comparison of the middle part of the formation, the sandstones S p a n o c r i c e t o d o n material from Kilçak and are interbedded with brown silty claybeds. Harami 3, faunas that are correlated with The sandstones in the lower and the upper zone MN1, with the type material of S. khani parts of the Kamlial Formation are ridge for- and S. lii from locality H-GSP 116 shows the ming. No bone concentrations were found in same stage of evolution (Theocharopoulos in this formation; however, a few unidentifiable prep.). The second indication is the occurren- bone fragments have been collected. A ce of S a y i m y s in Keseköy (De Bruijn, 1999) horizon with silicified wood is present at and in Horlak 1a and 1b (Sümengen et al. about 50 meters below the contact with the 1989), localities that are tentatively correlated Chinji Formation. Meissner et al. ( 1 9 7 4 ) with zones MN3 and MN4. These teeth from report the presence of an angular unconform- Anatolia are morphologically indistinguish- ity of 10 degrees between the Kamlial and able from S. minor from the Murree Chinji Formations. However, we can not con- Formation, but their size is somewhat larg e r. firm this unconformity. In the crossbedded Similar specimens are known from the lower channel fillings, a 10 degree angularity is levels of the Lower Manchar Formation of hardly measurable. Furthermore, we have not Sind, southern Pakistan (De Bruijn et al. observed indications of a break in sedimenta- 1989) and from the Potwar Plateau (Bashin tion. On the contrary, the transition from the 1 9 9 6 ) . Kamlial into the Chinji Formation is rather gradual. The thick sandstone bodies interbed- Although we are aware of the fact that such ded with red clays of the Lower Chinji indirect long-distance correlations based on a Formation resemble the Kamlial sandstones. few taxa are not very reliable, our Murree In the Banda Daud Shah area, there is no jus- fauna is tentatively correlated with MN1-2. tification for placing the Kamlial Formation Such correlation implies an age of about 22 - in a different group (top formation of the 23 Ma for the fauna from H-GSP 116, which Rawalpindi Group) than the Chinji Formation is only slightly older than the 20.5 Ma age of (lowest formation of the Siwalik Group) as the similar fauna from the upper part of the proposed by Meissner et al. ( 1 9 7 4 ) . Chitarwata Formation as reported by Downing et al. (1993). This means that the Chinji Fo r m a t i o n base of the Murree formation in the Kohat The Chinji Formation (about 960 meters area might be older than was previously assu- thick) is characterised by the large amount of med. The almost complete change in compo- brown-red to brick-red clay and siltstones, sition of the rodent associations that occurred interbedded with gray to brown sandstone between Bugti and Murree times (Flynn et al. bodies. The first appearance of red clays on 1986) seems to have occurred within a very top of thick-bedded greenish sandstones short period and to have coincided with the marks the boundary between the Chinji and first uplift of the Himalayas. the Kamlial Formations. The Chinji Formation forms valleys in the landscape in between the ridge-forming sandstones of the

208 LEINDERS et al.: continental deposits of Northwestern Pakistan

Upper Kamlial and the lower Nagri The rodents from locality H-GSP 107 may, Formations. The Lower Chinji near Banda except for M y o m i m u s, be derived from Daud Shah is fossiliferous and concentrations groups known to occur in the Murree of bones occur in brown calcrete nodule beds. Formation. The two primitive murids and the Most of the bones in these beds are non- two myocricetodontids (the teeth described mammalian vertebrates (fish and crocodiles). by Wessels et al. 1982 as M e g a c r i c e t o d o n s p . H o w e v e r, a few teeth of large mammals are and Zapodidae gen. et sp. indet. are now found. They occur in the gray sandstone beds known to represent the genus P u n j a b e m y s . and are represented by rhinoceroses, rumi- Lindsay (1988) indicate local diversification nants, suids (Listriodon pentapotaminae), of these two (related?) families. The associa- tragulids and gomphotherids. Meissner et al. tion is diverse and widespread because simi- (1974) collected a complete lower jaw of lar faunas are present in the upper parts of the Te t r a l o p h o d o n f a l c o n e r i in this lower part of lower Manchar Formation near Sehwan the Chinji Formation and on this basis they Sharif, Sind (De Bruijn & Hussain 1985 b, assigned a Pliocene age to the formation. Wessels 1996). This age, however, is no longer tenable. N agri Fo r m a t i o n The rodent locality, H-GSP 107 (Wessels e t The base of the Nagri Formation near Banda a l . 1982) is about 210 meters above the Daud Shah consists of light gray, thick bed- contact between the Kamlial and Chinji ded and cliff forming sandstone beds. T h e Formations. This fossil locality was situated sandstones are thinner and interbedded with within a relatively large, probably slightly clays and silts higher in the section. meandering fluvial system. The fossil con- According to Meissner et al. (1974), the centrations can particularly be found within Nagri Formation in this part of the Kohat the fluvial cut-off or ox-bow lake facies of quadrangle is almost 4000 meters thick. this fluvial system. H-GSP 107 yielded the Isolated mammalian fragments were found following fossil rodents (Wessels et al. 1 9 8 2 throughout the area prospected. In the lower and Wessels 1996): part of the formation fragments of suids, rhi- noceroses, giraffids and tragulids were found. C r i c e t o d o n t i n a e In the upper part of the Nagri formation Democricetodon kohatensis WE S S E L S et al., 1982 (2500 meters above the Chinji-Nagri bounda- M y o c r i c e t o d o n t i n a e ry), two tooth fragments (molars or premo- Dakkamys berry i LI N D S AY 1 9 8 8 . lars) and a fragment of a metapodial of hip- Punabemys downsi LI N D S AY 1 9 8 8 parionine horses were collected. It may be M u r i d a e concluded that the arrival of hipparions in Potwarmus primitivus (WE S S E L S et al. 1 9 8 2 ) Banda Daud Shah was not contemporaneous Antemus chinjiensis JA C O B S 1977 with the start of the Nagri sedimentation, R h i z o m y i d a e which is similar to the situation at the Kanisamys indicus WO O D . 1 9 3 7 P o t w a r-plateau area (south of Rawalpindi). K a n i s a m y s s p . The arrival of hipparionine horses in the G l i r i d a e Potwar area is dated at about 9.5 My (Barry M y o m i m u s cf. s u m b a l e n w a l i c u s MU N T H E 1 9 8 0 et al. 1982). According to Hussain & Bernor S c i u r i d a e (1984) and Bernor & Hussain (1985) the Tamias urialensis MU N T H E 1 9 8 0 ‘C o r m o h i p p a r i o n ’ (S i v a l h i p p u s) group was Marmotini gen. et sp. indet. the first to enter the Indo-Pakistan subconti- Sciurinae gen. et sp. indet. nent. T h ry o n o m y i d a e P a r a u l a c o d u s a ff . i n d i c u s HI N TO N 1 9 3 3

209 ELEPHANTS HAVE A SNORKEL! DEINSEA 7, 1999

C O N C L U S I O N S Zinda Pir Dome in Baluchistan whith an age The Eocene continental redbeds of the Kala of 20.5 My (Downing et al. 1993). Fallomus i s Chitta and Barbara Banda areas have diff e- the only rodent genus that survived the faunal rent lithological characteristics. The freshwa- transition between Bugti and Murree times. ter limestone beds, variegated clays and oys- Faunal similarities also exist between the ter beds are present in the Kala Chitta but Murree Formation from Banda Daud Shah they are absent in the Banda Daud Shah area. and Miocene deposits from Sind (Manchar Since the continental deposits are diff e r e n t Formation) and Central Anatolia, Tu r k e y. lithologically and are not physically traceable between these two areas, we do not consider The Kamlial Formation has yielded a few them as part of the same formal formation. bone fragments and silicified wood was The redbeds probably represent the develop- found at about 50 meters below the contact ment of similar facies at different places and with the Chinji Formation. An angular uncon- at different times and the deposits near Banda formity noted by Meissner et al. ( 1 9 7 4 ) Daud Shah are probably the oldest (early part between the Kamlial and Chinji Formations of the early Eocene). The initial contact has not been recognised by us. On the contra- between the Indian and Asian plates took r y, we have seen a gradual transition between place at about 55 My along the north-western these two formations. border of the Indian plate followed by a c o u n t e r-clockwise rotation of the subconti- The Chinji Formation is characterised by red nent. This resulted in the accumulation of clays with intercalated sandstone bodies. One younger continental deposits towards the fossil rodent locality is situated about 210 east. The land mammals first arrived on the meters above the contact with the Kamlial Indian subcontinent by sweepstake route / Formation. The locality represents an ox-bow island hopping. This mammalian fauna, as lake facies of a fluvial system. Except for represented by the collection from Barbara M y o m i m u s and the Muridae, all rodents can Banda (locality H-GSP 300), has an unbalan- be derived from the taxa known from the ced composition and is of earliest Eocene Murree Formation. Similar taxa of rodents age. The Eocene mammalian faunas become are also present in the lower Manchar younger as we go towards the east: Barbara Formation near Sehwan Sharif, Sind. Banda being the westernmost locality and Kalakot the easternmost (Table 1). The Nagri Formation consists of light gray, c l i ff forming sandstone beds. The earliest The Eocene deposits were succeeded by a remains of Hipparionine horses are found break in deposition and a period of erosion, 2500 meters above the Chinji - Nagri which was followed by the sedimentation of B o u n d a r y. The first appearance of these hor- the red clays of the Miocene Murree ses is dated at 9.5 My in the Potwar area. Formation. This Formation marks the begin- ning of the fluvial sedimentation and the time AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S when the Siwalik Basin came into existence. Since 1974 many people have been involved The beginning of this new fluvial sedimenta- in the Howard University - Geological tion is documented by the rodent fauna from Survey of Pakistan Project. We are especially a thin caliche bed about two meters above the indebted to the Director General, Geological contact between the Kohat and the Murree Survey of Pakistan who has given us his ful- Formations (Locality H-GSP 116), which is lest co-operation and support at all stages of tentatively correlated with zones MN 1-2 the work. We are particularly grateful to indicating an age of about 22 - 23 My. A Messrs. Iqbal Cheema, Naseer Khan and Drs. similar fauna has been reported from the A.J. van der Meulen, R.M. West and J.

210 LEINDERS et al.: continental deposits of Northwestern Pakistan

Munthe for their able assistance in the field. Dehm, R. & Zu Oetingen-Spielberg, T., 1958 - Work was supported by several grants from Palaeontologische und geologische Untersuchungen the Smithsonian Institution (current number im Tertiär von Pakistan. 2. Die mitteleocänen 7087120000-13), National Science Säugetieren von Ganda Kas bei Basal in Nordwest- Foundation (number DEB-8003601) and Pakistan - Abhandlungen Bayerische Akademie National Geographic Society (numbers 3140- Wissenschaften, Neue Folge 91: 1-54 85 and 3494-87) awarded to S.T. Hussain. Downing, K.F., Lindsay, E.H., Downs, W.R. & Speyer, S.E., 1993 - Lithostratigraphy and vertebrate R E F E R E N C E S biostratigraphy of the early Miocene Himalayan B a r r y, J.C., Lindsay, E.H. & Jacobs, L.K., 1982 - A Foreland, Zinda Pir Dome, Pakistan - Sediment. biostratigraphic zonation of the middle and upper Geol. 87: 25-37 Siwaliks of the Potwar Plateau of Northern Pakistan - Flynn, L.T., Jacobs, L.L. & Cheema, I.Q., 1986 - P a l a e o g e o g r a p h y, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeooecology Baluchimyinae, a new Ctenodactyloid rodent 37: 95-130 subfamily from the Miocene of Baluchistan - Bashin, T.A., 1996 - Systematic revision of American Museum Novitates 2841: 1-58 Ctenodactylidae (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the Friedman, R., Gee, J., Tauxe, L., Downing, K. & Miocene of Pakistan - Palaeovertebrata 25 (1): 1-49 L i n d s a y, E., 1992 - The magnetostratigraphy of the B e r n o r, R.L. & Hussain, S.T., 1985 - An assessment of Chitarwata and lower Vihowa formations of the Dera the systematic, phylogenetic and biogeographic Ghazi Khan area, Pakistan - Sediment. Geol. 81: 253- relationships of Siwalik hipparionine horses - Journal 2 6 8 of Vertebrate Paleontology 5 (1): 32-87 Gingerich, P.D., 1977 - A small collection of fossil De Bruijn, H., Hussain, S.T. & Leinders, J.J.M., 1981 - vertebrates from the middle Eocene Kuldana and Fossil rodents from the Murree Formation near Banda Kohat Formations of Punjab (Pakistan) - Daud Shah, Kohat, Pakistan - Proceedings Contributions Museum of Paleontology, University of Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Michigan 24 (18): 190-203 Wetenschappen B 84 (1): 71-99 Gingerich, P.D., Russell, D.E., Sigogneau-Russell, D. & De Bruijn, H., Hussain, S.T. & Leinders, J.J.M., 1982 - H a r t e n b e rg e r, J.L., 1979 - Chorlakkia hassani, a new On some early Eocene rodent remains from Barbara middle Eocene dichobunid (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) Banda, Kohat, Pakistan, and the early history of the from the Kuldana Formation of Kohat (Pakistan) - order Rodentia - Proceedings Koninklijke Contributions Museum of Paleontology, University of Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen B 85 (3): Michigan 25 (6): 11 7 - 1 2 4 2 4 9 - 2 5 8 Gingerich, P.D., Wells, N.A., Russell, D.E. & Shah, De Bruijn, H., & Hussain, S.T., 1985 a - Thryonomyidae S.M.I., 1983 - Origin of whales in epicontinental from the Lower Manchar Formation of Sind, Pakistan remnant seas, new evidence from the early Eocene of - Proceedings Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie Pakistan - Science 220 (4595): 403-406 van Wetenschappen B 88 (2): 155-166 Haq, B.U., 1989 - Geological evolution of the Indian De Bruijn, H., & Hussain, S.T., 1985 b - The succession Ocean with special reference to the Arabian sea - in: of rodent faunas from the Lower Manchar Formation, Thompson, M.F. (ed.) - Marine Science of the Southern Pakistan - Paléobiologie continentale 14 Arabian Sea - Washington D.C.: American Institute of (2): 191-204 Biological Sciences: 9-35 De Bruijn, H., Boon, E. & Hussain, S.T., 1989 - H a r t e n b e rg e r, J.L., 1982 - A review of Eocene rodents of Evolutionary trends in S a y i m y s (Ctenodactylidae, Pakistan - Contributions Museum of Paleontology, Rodentia) from the Lower Manchar Formation (Sind, University of Michigan 26 (2): 19-35 Pakistan) - Proceedings Koninklijke Nederlandse Hussain, S.T. & Bernor,R., 1984 - Evolutionary history Akademie van Wetenschappen B 92 (3): 191-214 of the Siwalik hipparions - Courier Forschungs Institut De Bruijn, H., 1999 - in: Rössner, H & Heissig, K. (eds.) S e n c k e n b e rg 69: 181-187 - The Miocene landmammals of Europe [ISBN 3- Hussain, S.T., De Bruijn, H. & Leinders, J.J.M., 1978 - 931516-50-4]: 263-266 Middle Eocene rodents from the Kala Chitta Range

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(Punjab, Pakistan) - Proceedings Koninklijke Tethys to the Himalaya as recorded in northwest Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen B 81 (1): Pakistan - Geological Society of America Bulletin 7 4 - 11 2 108 (10): 1295-1313 Hussain, S.T., Munthe, J., Shah, S.M.I., West, R.M. & Raza, S.M. & Meyer, G.E., 1984 - Early Miocene Lukacs, J.R., 1979 - Neogene stratigraphy and fossil geology and paleontology of the Bugti Hills, Pakistan vertebrates of the Daud Khel Area, Mianwali District, - Geological Survey Pakistan Memoir 11: 43-63 Pakistan - Memoirs Geological Survey Pakistan 13: Russell, D.E. & Gingerich, P.D., 1987 - Nouveaux 1 - 2 7 primates de l'Eocène de Pakistan - Comptes rendus de J a e g e r, J.J., Tong, H. & Buffetaut, E., 1985 - The first l’Académie des Sciences Paris, Série 2, 304: 209- fossil rodents from the Miocene of Northern Thailand 2 1 4 and their bearing on the problem of the origin of the Russell, D.E. & Zhai, R.J., 1987 - The of A s i a Muridae - Revue de Paléobiologie 4 (1): 1-7 - Mémoires du Muséum National d’Histoire Klootwijk, C., 1979 - A review of the palaeomagnetic Naturelle, Paris, Ser. C 52: 1-490 data from the Indo-Pakistani fragment of Shah, I.S. (ed.), 1977 - Stratigraphy of Pakistan - Gondwanaland - in: Farah, A & De Jong, K.A. (eds.) Memoir Geological Survey Pakistan 12: 1-138 - Geodynamics of Pakistan - Geological Survey Sümengen, M., Ünay, E., Saraç, G., De Bruijn, H., Pakistan: 41-80 Terlemez, I. & Gürbüz, M., 1989 - New Neogene Klootwijk, C., Conaghan, P.J. & McA. Powel, C., 1985 - rodent assemblages from Anatolia, Turkey - in: The Himalayan Arc. Large scale continental L i n d s a y, H., Fahlbusch, V. & Mein, P. (eds.) - subduction, oroclinal bending and back-arc European Neogene Mammal Chronology - Nato ASI spreading - Earth and Planetary Science Letters 75: series, series A, Life Sciences 180: 61-72 1 6 7 - 1 8 3 Ta p p o n i e r, P., Mattauer, M., Proust, F. & Cassaigneau, Krijgsman W., 1996 - Miocene magnetostratigraphy and C., 1981 - Mesozoic ophiolites, sutures, and cyclostratigraphy in the Mediterranean: Extension of l a rge-scale tectonic movements in Afghanistan - the astronomical polarity time scale. Chapter 9. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 52: 355-371 Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of Late to Thewissen, J.G.M., Russell, D.E., Gingerich, P.D. & Middle Miocene Mammal bearing localities in Hussain, S.T., 1983 - A new dichobunid artiodactyl Central Anatolia (Turkey): 171-189 (Mammalia) from the Eocene of North-West L i n d s a y, E.H., 1988 - Cricetid rodents from Siwalik Pakistan. Dentition and Classification - Proceedings deposits near Chinji Village. Part I: Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Megacricetodontinae, Myocricetodontinae and Wetenschappen B 86 (2): 153-180 Dendromurinae - Palaeovertebrata 18 (2): 95-154 Thewissen, J.G.M., Gingerich, P.D. & Russell, D.E., Maas, M.C., Hussain, S.T., Leinders, J.J.M & Thewissen, 1987 - Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla (Mammalia) J.G.M., in prep. - A new Isectolophid Tapiroid from from the early-middle Eocene Kuldana Formation of the Early Eocene of Pakistan Kohat (Pakistan) - Contributions Museum of Mein, P. & Ginsburg, L., 1997 - Les Mammifères du P a l e o n t o l o g y, University of Michigan 27 (1): 247-274 gisement Miocène inférieur de Li Mae Long, Thewissen, J.G.M. & Hussain, S.T., 1990 - Postcranial Thailande: systématique, biostratigraphie et osteology of the most primitive artiodactyl paléoenvironnement - Geodiversitas 19 (4): 783-844 Diacodexis pakistanensis (Dichobunidae) - Anat. M e i s s n e r, C.R., Master, J.M., Rashid, M.A. & Hussain, Hist. Embryol. 19: 37-48 M., 1974 - Stratigraphy of the Kohat Quadrangle, Wells, N.A., 1983 - Transient streams in sand-poor Pakistan - U.S. Geological Survey, Professional redbeds, early middle Eocene Kuldana Formation of papers 716 D: 1-30 Northern Pakistan - Special Publication International Patriat, P. & Achache, J., 1984 - India - Eurasia Association of Sedimentologists 6: 393-403 collision chronology has implications for crustal Wensink, H., 1975 - The structural history of the India- shortening and driving mechanism of plates - Nature Pakistan sub-continent during the Phanerozoic - in: 3 11: 615-621 Progress in Geodynamics - Koninklijke Nederlandse Pivnik, D.A. & Wells, N.A., 1996 - The transition from Akademie van Wetenschappen: 190-207

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Wessels, W., De Bruijn, H., Hussain, S.T. & Leinders, 2 5 3 - 3 1 2 J.J.M., 1982 - Fossil rodents from the Chinji West, R.M., 1980 - Middle Eocene large mammal Formation, Banda Daud Shah, Kohat, Pakistan - assemblage with Tethyan affinities, Ganda Kas Proceedings Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Region, Pakistan - Journal of Paleontology 54 (3): Wetenschappen B 85 (3): 337-364 5 0 8 - 5 3 3 Wessels, W., 1996 - Myocricetodontinae from the Miocene of Pakistan - Proceedings Koninklijke r e c e i ved 9 Febru a r y 1999 Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen 99 (3-4):

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DEINSEA - ANNUAL OF THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM ROTTERDAM P. O . B o x 2 3 4 5 2 , N L - 3 0 0 1 K L R o t t e r d a m T h e N e t h e r l a n d s

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