First record of fossil leaves from Siwalik (Upper Miocene) sediments of Mandi District, Himachal Pradesh, India: palaeoclimatic and phytogeographical implications

Prasad, Mahesh; Mohan, Lalit; Singh, Sanjai

doi:10.54991/jop.2013.342

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The same species has also been described from the Siwalik of Sarkaghat, H.P. (Prasad et al, 2013). The present fossil leaf can easily be differentiated from both the above fossils in possessing only few pairs of secondaries with very sharp curvature before reaching the margin.…”

Section: Family-rhamnaceaesupporting

confidence: 56%

Middle Miocene flora from Siwalik foreland basin of Uttarakhand, India and its phytogeographic and palaeoclimatic implications

Prasad¹,

Alok²,

Kannaujia³

et al. 2017

JPS

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Morphotaxonomical study on the plant fossils (leaf and fruit impressions) collected from Lower Siwalik sediments of Tanakpur area, Uttarakhand revealed the occurrence of 57 species of 25 angiospermous families. Of these, 39 species have been recorded new to the fossil flora of Himalayan foot hills and remaining 18 species are reported already from different Siwalik fossil localities of India, Nepal and Bhutan. The family Fabaceae (Legume family) represented by 15 species is the most dominant family in present assemblage followed by Annonaceae (8 species), Sapindaceae (5 species), Lauraceae and Euphorbiaceae (4 species) and Dipterocarpaceae and Rutaceae (3 species). The family Fabaceae which appeared in Upper Palaeocene became a major component of the evergreen forest during Middle Miocene times all along the Himalayan foot hills. In the present assemblage the evergreen floral taxa (54%) are dominant in contrast to mixed deciduous taxa at present. The predominance of evergreen elements in the Siwalik fossil assemblage indicates the prevalence of warm and humid climate with plenty of rain fall during the deposition of Siwalik sediments. The analysis of present day distribution of all the recovered species from the Siwalik foreland basins of Tanakpur area shows that they are mostly known to occur in North–east India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia wherever favourable climatic conditions exist. Only about 14% taxa of the total assemblage are found to grow presently in the Himalayan foot hills and the remaining 86% taxa are locally extinct, suggesting changes in the climatic condition. Nearest Living Relative (NLR) suggests that the Tanakpur area enjoyed a tropical climate having Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) 24–28ºC and Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) 2100–2800 mm during the deposition of the sediments.

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Section: Family-rhamnaceaesupporting

confidence: 56%

Middle Miocene flora from Siwalik foreland basin of Uttarakhand, India and its phytogeographic and palaeoclimatic implications

Prasad¹,

Alok²,

Kannaujia³

et al. 2017

JPS

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“…Today, Ventilago is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropical areas of Asia, Australia, and Africa (Cahen & Utteridge, 2018). However, considering the limited fossil occurrences of this genus (Antal & Prasad, 1997; Konomatsu & Awasthi, 1999; Calvillo‐Canadell & Cevallos‐Ferriz, 2007; Prasad et al, 2013; Liu et al, 2015; Dong et al, 2018; Del Rio et al, 2021), the past distribution pattern of Ventilago confined to only two continents (North America and Asia) (Figs. 6, 7).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First fossil evidence of samaras ofVentilagoGaertn. (Rhamnaceae) from India and its implications

Hazra

Kundu

Bera

et al. 2023

J of Sytematics Evolution

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The Ventilago Gaertn. (Rhamnaceae) is widely distributed in pantropical areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia. However, fossil records of this taxon are sparse, which limits understanding of the evolution and biogeographic history of the genus. In the present study, we report and describe two new fossil species of Ventilago, V. siwalika sp. nov. from the Miocene sediments of Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya, and V. pliocenica sp. nov. from the Pliocene sediments of Jharkhand, eastern India based on single‐winged samaras. Ventilago pliocenica is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins, the presence of equatorial rim, the hypanthium, and short pedicel. On the other hand, V. siwalika is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins. Our discovery represents the first unambiguous fossil record of single‐winged samara of Ventilago from India and provides valuable insights into the evolution of this genus. In this paper, we also review its biogeographic history and add new information to understand its hypothetical migration route. Present and earlier records of Ventilago also suggest that this genus was a common forest element during Neogene (Miocene time) in Asia.

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“…C (Mathur et al, 1996) differ in having reticulate tertiary veins as compared to percurrent tertiaries in both F. paleovariegata and F. paleodicranostyla . The fossil leaves of F. benjamina (Prasad et al, 2002), F. eomysorensis (Tripathi et al, 2002), F. glomerata (Mahajan and Mahabale, 1973), F. macrocarpa (Singh and Prasad, 2008), F. miocenicus (Konomatsu and Awasthi, 1999), F. nepalensis (Prasad, 1990), F. oodlabariensis (Prasad et al, 2004; Prasad, 2006), F. raptiensis (Prasad and Awasthi, 1996), F. palaeoracemosa (Srivastava et al, 2011), F. champarense (Lakhanpal and Awasthi, 1984), and F. praecurticeps (Agarwal, 2002) possess an elliptical shape and so can be differentiated from our fossil leaf, F. dicranostyla , because it is ovate. However, they do show some resemblance to F. paleovariegata in shape, but differ in being symmetrical, except for F. champarense and F. praecurticeps .…”

Section: Systematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

PaleogeneFicusleaves from India and their implications for fig evolution and diversification

Chandra

Spicer

Shukla³

et al. 2023

American J of Botany

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Premise Ficus is a scientifically and economically important genus with abundant fossil records from the Paleocene to Pleistocene, but with an intriguing early evolutionary history that remains unresolved. Here, the foliage of three well‐preserved figs is described from the early Paleogene succession of the Gurha mine, Rajasthan, India. These fossils provide new morphological data that strengthens our understanding of the past occurrences of Ficus and, alongside all validly published records of fossil figs, helps to trace the evolutionary history of figs. Methods Fossils were identified and described by comparison with their closest modern analogs using the Nearest Living Relative (NLR) technique. Validated fig records are listed and categorized into six geological time frames. Modern precipitation data for the current distributions of NLRs were downloaded from the Climatic Research Unit Timeseries. Results Fossil leaves assigned to three new species Ficus paleodicranostyla, F. paleovariegata, and F. paleoauriculata closely resemble their modern analogs based on leaf morphology. Reliable fossil records were used to hypothesize historical fig distributions and paleodispersal pathways. Precipitation data suggest higher precipitations at the fossil locality during the early Paleogene than at present. Conclusions The fossils described herein supplement fig fossil records known from other regions indicating that figs were widely diverse across low latitudes by the early Paleogene. These data support a Eurasian origin for figs, highlight a pivotal role for the Indian subcontinent during the early phase of fig diversification, and depict a perhumid‐to‐humid climate with high rainfall concordant with paleoclimate evidence from the Gurha mine.

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First record of fossil leaves from Siwalik (Upper Miocene) sediments of Mandi District, Himachal Pradesh, India: palaeoclimatic and phytogeographical implications

Cited by 9 publications

References 21 publications

Middle Miocene flora from Siwalik foreland basin of Uttarakhand, India and its phytogeographic and palaeoclimatic implications

Middle Miocene flora from Siwalik foreland basin of Uttarakhand, India and its phytogeographic and palaeoclimatic implications

First fossil evidence of samaras ofVentilagoGaertn. (Rhamnaceae) from India and its implications

PaleogeneFicusleaves from India and their implications for fig evolution and diversification

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