The Restless Indian Plate and Its Epic Voyage from Gondwana to Asia: Its Tectonic, Paleoclimatic, and Paleobiogeographic Evolution by Sankar Chatterjee Department of Geosciences Museum of Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas 79409-3191, USA Christopher R. Scotese PALEOMAP Project 134 Dodge Evanston, Illinois 60202, USA Sunil Bajpai Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences 53 University Road Lucknow 226007, India Special Paper 529 3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140 Boulder, Colorado 80301-9140, USA 2017 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/2538792/spe529-00e.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 Copyright © 2017, The Geological Society of America (GSA), Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright is not claimed on content prepared wholly by U.S. government employees within the scope of their employment. 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GSA Books Science Editor: Richard A. Davis Jr. and Christian Koeberl Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Chatterjee, Sankar. | Scotese, Christopher R. | Bajpai, Sunil. | Geological Society of America. Title: The restless Indian plate and its epic voyage from Gondwana to Asia : its tectonic, paleoclimatic, and paleobiogeographic evolution / by Sankar Chatterjee, Department of Geosciences, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, Christopher R. Scotese, PALEOMAP Project, Evanston, Illinois, Sunil Bajpai, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India. Description: Boulder, Colorado : The Geological Society of America, 2017. | Series: Special paper ; 529 | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2017017590 | ISBN 9780813725291 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Plate tectonics—India. | Plate tectonics—Asia. | Paleoclimatology—India. | Paleobiogeography—India. | Gondwana (Continent) Classification: LCC QE511.4 .C41945 2017 | DDC 555.4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017590 Cover: (Front) Paleoecology of the Early Jurassic Kota Formation of India. (Back) Paleoecology of the Siwalik vertebrates on the Himalayan flanks (ca. 12 Ma) showing the Serengeti-like ecosystem with the freshwater Siwalik River fed by mountain rivers. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/2538792/spe529-00e.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 Contents Abstract ...........................................................................1 Introduction ........................................................................3 Principles of Paleoclimatology .........................................................4 Principles of Paleobiogeography .......................................................6 Chronology of the Tectonic Evolution of the Indian Plate .................................10 Terrestrial Tetrapod Horizons in India .................................................11 The Permian Period: The Beginnings of Gondwana Sedimentation .........................15 Late Paleozoic Ice Age ...............................................................15 Early Permian Biogeography ..........................................................16 The Return of Terrestrial Life to Glaciated India ...........................................17 Late Permian Biogeography ...........................................................21 End-Permian Extinction and Faunal Turnover .............................................22 The Triassic Period: Pangean World. 24 Early Triassic Panchet and Kamthi Tetrapods .............................................25 Early Triassic Biogeography ...........................................................26 Middle Triassic Yerrapalli and Denwa Tetrapods ...........................................27 Middle Triassic Biogeography .........................................................29 Late Triassic Maleri, Tiki, and Lower Dharmaram Formations ................................29 Lower Maleri Tetrapods (Late Triassic, Carnian) ...........................................30 Late Triassic (Carnian) Tiki Tetrapods ...................................................32 Late Triassic (Carnian) Biogeography ...................................................32 Carnian–Norian Faunal Turnover .......................................................33 Upper Maleri Tetrapods (Late Triassic, Norian) ............................................35 Lower Dharmaram Tetrapods (Late Triassic, Rhaetian) ......................................35 Late Triassic (Norian–Rhaetian) Biogeography ............................................35 End-Triassic Mass Extinction and Faunal Turnover .........................................36 The Jurassic Period: Time of the Giants ...............................................37 Upper Dharmaram Tetrapods (Early Jurassic, Hettangian) ...................................38 Lower Kota Tetrapods (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian–Toarcian) .................................39 Early Jurassic Biogeography ...........................................................43 Upper Kota Tetrapods (Middle Jurassic) .................................................43 Middle Jurassic Biogeography .........................................................45 Upper Jurassic Bagra Tetrapods ........................................................45 The Cretaceous Period ..............................................................46 Early Cretaceous Sediments and Rajmahal Volcanism (ca. 120 Ma) ............................48 Rifting of Madagascar from India (ca. 88 Ma) .............................................50 Collision of India with the Kohistan-Ladakh (KL) Island Arc (ca. 85 Ma) .......................53 iii Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/2538792/spe529-00e.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 iv Contents Late Cretaceous Tetrapods ............................................................55 Nimar Sandstone (Cenomian) Tetrapods .................................................55 Late Cretaceous Tetrapod Fauna from the Deccan Volcanic Province. 56 Late Cretaceous Biogeography .........................................................64 End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction and Faunal Turnover ......................................67 The Paleocene Period ...............................................................70 Separation of Seychelles from India (ca. 65 Ma) ...........................................70 Acceleration of the Indian Plate (ca. 67–52 Ma) ...........................................73 Noah’s Ark versus Passenger Ship ......................................................73 Paleocene Vertebrates ................................................................75 The Paleocene–Eocene Transition: Initial Collision with Asia ..............................76 The Onset of India-Asia Continental Collision during the PETM (ca. 55 Ma) ....................77 Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum ..................................................80 Geologic Setting of the Cambay Shale Formation, Vastan Lignite Mine, Gujarat ..................85 Early Eocene Tetrapods ..............................................................86 Nonmammalian Tetrapods ............................................................86 Early Eocene Mammals ..............................................................91 Afrotheria .........................................................................92 Laurasiatheria ......................................................................92 Ferungulata ........................................................................93 Euarchontoglires ....................................................................98 Early Eocene Biogeography ..........................................................100 Origin of Modern Orders of Placental Mammals ..........................................101 Great Indo-European Interchange ......................................................103