Fossil flora from the Himalayan foot-hills of Darjeeling District, West Bengal and its palaeoecological and phytogeographical significance

Antal, J.S.; Awasthi, N.

doi:10.54991/jop.1993.1129

Cited by 29 publications

(79 citation statements)

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“…A number of leaf-impressions and carbonised and petrified woods resembling the genus Diospyros have been described by several workers. The leaf-impressions described so far from the Indian subcontinent are Diospyros pretoposia Prasad 1990a and D. koi/abasensis Prasad from the Siwalik sediments of Koilabas, Nepal (Prasad, 1990a) and Oodlabari, Dar-jeeling District, West Bengal (Antal & Awasthi, 1993); D. miokaki from the Siwalik sediments of Surai Khola, Nepal (Awasthi & Prasad, 1990); and D. kathgodamensis and D. palaeoebenum from the Siwalik sediments of Kathgodam in Nainital District of Uttar Pradesh (Prasad, 1994a, c). The present fossil leaf distinctly differs from these species in shape and venation pattern and therefore has been described as Diospyros miocenicus sp.…”

Section: Fanlily--apocynaceaementioning

confidence: 98%

“…f. & Th. is already described as Mitrephora siwalica (Antal & Awasthi, 1993) from the Siwalik sediments of West Bengal, India. Except for size variation, our fossil leaves are similar to Mitrephora siwalica in their shape and venation pattern.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fossil leaves resembling Hydnocarpus kurzii described as Hydnocarpus palaeokurzii are known from the Siwalik sediments of Oodlabari, West Ben-gal (Antal & Awasthi, 1993) and Kathgodam, Uttar Pradesh (Prasad, 1994). They differ from our fossil leaves in having oblong shape with different nature of secondary veins.…”

Section: Pi I Figs 5mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The genus Ficus is well documented from the Tertiary sediments of India. So far 11 species have been reported from different sedimentary basins of India (see Antal & Awasthi, 1993). From the Siwalik sediments there are five species, viz., Ficus precunia from]awalamukhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Koilabas Nepal (Lakhanpal, 1968;Prasad, 1990a); F. champarensis from Bhikhnathoree (Lakhanpal & Awasthi, 1984); F. retusoides from Koilabas, Nepal and Oodlabari, West Bengal, India (Prasad, 1990a;Antal & Awasthi, 1993); F. nepalensis from Koilabas, Nepal (Prasad, 1990a) and F. oodlabarensisfrom Oodlabari, West Bengal (Antal & Awasthi, 1993).…”

Section: Genus--phylla7llbusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…West Bengal and Koilabas, Nepal (Awasthi, 1992;Prasad, 1990a Prasad, , b, 1994aAntal & Awasthi, 1993). Amongst the most common and widely distributed genera during Siwalik are: Polyalthia, Hydnocarpus, Calophyllum, Dipterocarpus, Mangijera, Gluta, Swintonia, Dysoxylum, Millettia, Koompassia, Cynometra, Bauhinia, Albizia, Terminalia, Syzygium, Randia, Diospyros, Mallotus, Ficus and Artocarpus.…”

Section: Acknowledgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contribution to the siwalik flora from Surai Khola sequence, western Nepal and its palaeoecological and phytogeographical implications

Prasad¹,

Awasthi²

1994

JPS

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A systematic study of plant megafossils comprising mostly leaf-impressions and few fruits from a sequence of the Siwalik sediments of Surai Khola area, Rapti Anchal, western Nepal has revealed 33 taxa belonging to 15 dicotyledonous families, viz., Anonaceae, Flacourtiaceae, Clusiaceae, Rutaceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae, Anacardiaceae, Fabaceae, Anisophylleaceae, Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Apocynaceae, Ebenaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae. Amongst them, Goniothalamus, Harpullia, Anisophyllea, Anthocephalus, Diplospora, Chonemorpha and Cleistanthus are new genera to the Indian Tertiary flora. The megafloral assemblage of the Surai Khola sequence, including 21 taxa reported earlier, now comprises 53 taxa of angiosperms. Most of the extant species resembling the fossil taxa are distributed in tropical evergreen to semi-evergreen forests of Western Ghats, northern India, Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Myanmar and in Southeast Asia which suggest that warm humid climate with higher precipitation prevailed in the area during Middle Miocene-Pliocene. Looking at the floral assemblages of different formations of the Surai Khola sequence, from base to the top sediments belonging to the Lower, Middle and Upper Siwaliks, one may find a gradual shift in the vegetation pattern. The basal sediments of Bankas and Chor Khola formations have preponderance of a lowland mixed mesophytic broad leaved evergreen to semi-evergreen elements. An increase in deciduous elements in the floral composition consequent to the disappearance of dipterocarpus and other significant evergreen taxa is noticed towards the close of Middle Siwalik and the beginning of Upper Siwalik. This change in the vegetation pattern reflects the changes in climatic conditions which are mainly due to northward movement of the Indian Plate and further uplift of Himalaya.

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Section: Fanlily--apocynaceaementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pi I Figs 5mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Genus--phylla7llbusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Acknowledgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contribution to the siwalik flora from Surai Khola sequence, western Nepal and its palaeoecological and phytogeographical implications

Prasad¹,

Awasthi²

1994

JPS

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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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Further contribution to the low latitude leaf assemblage from the late Oligocene sediments of Assam and its phytogeographical significance

Srivastava¹,

Mehrotra²

2013

J Earth Syst Sci

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An assemblage of fossil leaves is described from the late Oligocene (Chattian 28.1-23 Ma) sediments of Assam, which was located in a low palaeolatitude (∼10-15 • N) during the period of sedimentation. It includes four new fossil leaves resembling Firmiana and Pterygota of the Malvaceae s.l. and Paranephelium and Sapindus of the Sapindaceae. The present study suggests that the floral migration between India and southeast Asia had occurred after the late Oligocene. Our study is in congruence with the earlier published data suggesting a floral migration had occurred after the complete suturing of two landmasses by the Neogene.

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Fossil flora from the Himalayan foot-hills of Darjeeling District, West Bengal and its palaeoecological and phytogeographical significance

Cited by 29 publications

References 12 publications

Contribution to the siwalik flora from Surai Khola sequence, western Nepal and its palaeoecological and phytogeographical implications

Contribution to the siwalik flora from Surai Khola sequence, western Nepal and its palaeoecological and phytogeographical implications

PaleogeneFicusleaves from India and their implications for fig evolution and diversification

Further contribution to the low latitude leaf assemblage from the late Oligocene sediments of Assam and its phytogeographical significance

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