“…Clift, 2017;Clift et al, 2008;Coutand et al, 2014Coutand et al, , 2016Jain et al, 2009). Recent re-analyses of contained floras (Bhatia et al, 2021a;Khan et al, 2014Khan et al, , 2019, which have been known and studied for some while (Antal & Awasthi, 1993;Antal & Prasad, 1996a, b;1997, 1998Awasthi, 1992;Banerjee, 1996;Banerjee & Dasgupta, 1984Cautley, 1835;Khan & Bera, 2014a, b;Khan et al, 2011Khan et al, , 2014Khan et al, , 2015Khan et al, , 2016Khan et al, , 2017aPrasad, 1994a-c;Prasad & Pandey, 2008;Prasad & Tripathi, 2000) point to monsoon conditions having existed throughout the Neogene. What is not yet clear is when today's pronounced west to east increasing precipitation gradient developed along the Himalayan front, and what vegetation changes accompanied the drying in the west.…”