Neogene Climate, Terrestrial Mammals and Flora of the Indian Subcontinent

Abstract

The present review compiles the work done in and around India during 2011-2015 on the terrestrial climate, fauna and vegetation changes during the Neogene. Tectonics that led to the final closure of Tethys, uplift of the Tibetan plateau, land connection between Africa and Eurasia played a major role in the climatic variability and paleobiogeographic history of fauna and flora of the Indian subcontinent. Though the timing of initiation of monsoon is still a debatable issue, establishment of seasonal reversal in wind direction pattern during summer and winter period and development of monsoonal climate in larger parts of the Indian subcontionent is characteristic of Neogene. Fossil records of flora and fauna provide evidence of warm and humid climate of early Neogene, which then shifted to cooler and drier conditions during the late Neogene. This shift in the climatic conditions resulted in a major vegetation change in the Indian subcontinent with Early and Middle Miocene being dominated by C3 vegetation, and warm and humid tropical flora in low land areas while Late Miocene and Pliocene saw the dominance of C4 grasslands. Influenced by this major vegetation and ecological shift around Late Miocene, several browsing mammals of the Early and Middle Miocene landscape gave way to mostly grazing mammals of the Late Miocene and Pliocene time.