Lower Miocene (Aquitanien-Burdigalian) palaeobiogeography of the Indian subcontinent

Abstract

The paper analytically discusses certain palaeoecological criteria in the reconstruction of Lower Miocene (Aquitanian-Burdigalian) palaeobiogeography of the Indian subcontinent. The period is characterised by major marine transgressions and a prolific marine invertebrate and terrestrial vertebrate faunas. Faunal affinities of molluscs from western (Sind-Baluchistan) and eastern (Garo Hills) sectors are distinct and different. Molluscs of Garo Hills show affinity to Burmese species, whereas Sind-Baluchistan species shows similarity to that of the Mediterranean region. Marine molluscs resemble with the present-day taxa of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, where more than 35% species are common. This similarity is also evidenced by marine elasmobranchs, where approximately 33% species and 86% genera are similar to that of the Recent taxa. Terrestrial mammals show an intermingling of southern U.S.S.R. and African forms along with the presence of probably some groups belonging to the Indian subcontinent. Angiosperms are the dominant group. The Lower Miocene floras of the eastern and the western sectors are entirely different. The palm, Sabal major and Pinus are reported from various localities. The climate in the western sector and South India was tropical, whereas in the eastern sector, it was variable. The Lower Miocene period is also marked by the contraction of Sindhu Sea, Bangla Sea and the Burmese Gulf southwards resulting in the final disappearance of the sea by the Pliocene.