Som Nath Kundal¹*, Najma Ul Nisha¹, Bilal Rashid¹, Mohd Imtiaz¹ and Ansuya Bhandari²

¹P.G. Department of Geology, University of Jammu, Jammu -180006(J&K), India

²Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow-2260007(UP), India

(*Corresponding Author, E-mail: somnath@jammuuniversity.ac.in)

Abstract

Siwalik sediments of the Himalaya are famous worldwide for their rich biotic preservation comprising vertebrates, invertebrates, microfossils, and plant fossils. From time to time, various authors have been recovered and described fossil specimens from various Pliocene-Pleistocene fossiliferous sites of the Outer Northwest Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The current work aims to present up-to-date Pliocene-Pleistocene fossil records from the Pliocene-Pleistocene Siwalik deposits. Based on this fossil record, a clear picture of palaeobiodiversity, palaeoecology, and palaeoenvironment of these deposits was reconstructed during the present study. Further, fossil record indicates that artiodactyls and charophytes were the highly diversified groups among the fauna and flora of these deposits. The fauna and flora suggest that two distinct palaeo-communities existed during the Pliocene-Pleistocene time viz. one terrestrial and another aquatic in the Outer Northwest Himalaya of Jammu and Kashmir.

Keywords: Pliocene-Pleistocene, Palaeobiodiversity, Palaeoecology, Palaeoenvironment, Jammu Province, India