Basal Late Miocene Mammal Fauna from Tapar and Pasuda, Kachchh

The Kachchh Peninsula, Gujarat, western India, contains a series of Neogene terrestrial and marine deposits overlying Palaeogene, Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks. Previous studies based on rare and scattered occurrences of terrestrial mammals suggested that only Early and basal Middle Miocene strata were represented in the Neogene of the region, but recent field research has extended the fossil register into the Late Miocene, with taxa such as Hipparion, Kachchhchoerus salinus and Tetraconodon indicus being represented at Tapar and Pasuda. The aim of this contribution is to describe the new collections of mammals from Kachchh in order to refine the biochronology of the deposits. A review of previously known faunas is included to complete the terrestrial Neogene biostratigraphy of the Kachchh sediments.

Introduction 7
Materials and methods 7
Stratigraphy of Pasuda and Tapar 8
Depositional environment of the mammal-bearing strata at Pasuda and Tapar 8
Biostratigraphic context of the Kachchh mammal-bearing strata 11
Non-Mammalian fauna from Tapar 11
Mammalian Fauna from Tapar and Pasuda 15
Systematic Palaeontology 13
Order Rodentia Bowdich, 1821 13
Family Muridae Illiger, 1811 13
Family Cricetidae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 13
Family Sciuridae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 13
Family Rhizomyidae Winge, 1887 13
Order Chiroptera Blumenbach, 1779 14
“Insectivore” 14
Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 14
Family Amphicyonidae Haeckel, 1866 14
Superfamily Hominoidea Gray, 1825 14
Order Sirenia Illiger, 1811 15
Order Proboscidea Illiger, 1811 15
Family Gomphotheriidae Hay, 1922 15
Genus Gomphotherium Burmeister, 1837 15
Family Deinotheriidae Bonaparte, 1845 15
Genus Deinotherium Kaup 1829 15
Species Deinotherium sindiense Lydekker, 1880 16
Order Perissodactyla Owen, 1848 16
Family Equidae Gray, 1821 16
Genus Hipparion Christol, 1832 16
Hipparion sensu lato 16
Family Rhinocerotidae Gray, 1821 19
Genus Brachypotherium Roger, 1904 19
Species Brachypotherium perimense (Falconer & Cautley, 1847) 19
Rhinocerotidae genus indet. large 19
Order Artiodactyla Owen, 1848 19
Family Anthracotheriidae Gill, 1872 19
Genus Sivameryx Lydekker, 1878 19
Species Sivameryx palaeindicus Lydekker, 1877 19
Family Suidae Gray, 1821 20
Genus Kachchhchoerus nov. 20
Species Kachchhchoerus salinus (Pilgrim, 1926) 20
Genus Tetraconodon Falconer, 1868 24
Species Tetraconodon indicus (Lydekker, 1884a) 24
Family Sanitheriidae Simpson, 1945 28
Genus Sanitherium Von Meyer 1866 28
Species Sanitherium schlagintweiti Von Meyer, 1866 28
Family Tragulidae Milne-Edwards, 1864 28
Genus Dorcatherium Kaup & Scholl, 1834 28
Species Dorcatherium minus Lydekker, 1876 28
Family Giraffidae Gray, 1821 28
Genus Giraffokeryx Pilgrim, 1910 28
Species Giraffokeryx punjabiensis Pilgrim, 1910 28
Genus Giraffa Brisson, 1762 29
Species Giraffa priscilla Matthew, 1929 29
Family Bovidae Gray, 1821 31
Genus Protragocerus Depéret, 1887 31
Species cf. Protragocerus sp. 31
Genus Gazella Blainville, 1816 32
Species cf. Gazella sp. 32
Overview of Kachchh-Cambay Mammal Biostratigraphy 32
Palaeoenvironment 35
Eustacy and the Kachchh “Faluns” 35
Conclusions 35
Acknowledgements 36
References 36
Annex 1 39
Annex 2 40