First mammal and additional fossil flowers from the Kasauli formation, Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

The Kasauli Formation represents the initial stage of development of the foreland basin in response to the rising Himalaya. Here we report for the first time, a mammal (Rhinoceratidae, gen. et sp. indet) and some new taxa of fossil flowers from two localities, Shiv Mandir and Water Tank. The Kasauli Formation comprises of a grey/green, sometimes highly carbonaceous shale and massive grey/green sandstone sequence which so far has lacked an age-diagnostic biotic assemblage. The presence of a rhinoceratid, commonly known from other coeval sections of the Lower Murree in Pakistan and the Kalakot region, suggests the potential of finding suitable palaeontological temporal constraints for the fossil-bearing horizons. Two new taxa of fossil flowers, Kasaulipushpam and Trilobanthus are described. The present data suggests the presence of a well-watered landscape during Kasauli times in sharp contrast to more arid condition in the underlying Dagshai Formation which is predominantly red in colour.