A Middle Miocene (~14 Ma) vertebrate assemblage from Palasava, Rapar Taluka, Kutch (Kachchh) District, Gujarat State, western India

ABSTRACT

The present article aims to record a recently discovered middle Miocene vertebrate assemblage (including marine and terrestrial mammals) from Palasava, Kutch (Kachchh) District, Gujarat State, western India. The faunal assemblage comprising fishes, chelonians, crocodiles, snakes, birds and mammals is significant in terms of palaeoecology, palaeoenvironment and biostratigraphy of the region and yields evidence concerning its biogeographic affinities linked to Neogene Eustatic history. Palasava fauna together with previously known Neogene (particularly Miocene) vertebrate assemblages from the Kutch region indicates the presence of a riverine-estuarine system(s) linked to the sea, i.e. the depositional centres were quite close to the sea. Furthermore, the Palasava vertebrate assemblage (recorded herein) points towards a prevalence of warm, humid/wet, tropical to sub-tropical environmental conditions. The terrestrial mammalian assemblage from Palasava represents at least seven families with six of the terrestrial mammalian taxa identified herein to the genus level, namely: Sanitherium, Sivameryx, Brachypotherium, Zygolophodon, Gomphotherium, and Deinotherium. The overall assemblage (including Zygolophodon and Deinotherium) is indicative of a Middle Miocene, 14 ± 2 Ma (Langhian to Serravallian) age for the sedimentary succession at Palasava. Furthermore, a ~ 14 Ma age for the Palasava fauna indicates a correlation to regression cycle R5 in the Tagus Valley succession of Portugal.

KEYWORDS:

• Biostratigraphy
• eustacy
• mammals
• palaeoecology
• palaeoenvironment
• vertebrates

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all those involved in the initial discovery of Miocene fauna at Palasava, particularly Mr Ladak and Mr Mohansingh Sodha. VVK thanks Dr Vandana Prasad (Director, BSIP) for constant encouragement, necessary permission(s) [Permission No. BSIP/RDCC/Publication no. 20/2019-20], and for providing infrastructural facilities to carry out the research study. This work was supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board [New Delhi, India] under Grant [SR/FTP/ES-49/2012] and by BSIP [Lucknow, India] under Grants [2.17, 3.9] to VVK. MGT thankfully acknowledges, the Principal (Shri R R Lalan College, Bhuj, Gujarat State, India), and Professor GVR Prasad (Department of Geology, University of Delhi, India) for his kind help and support in many ways. The authors would also like to thank Professor JGM Thewissen for his keen interest in the article and, also Professor S Bajpai for all his support. The authors sincerely thank Dr. Gareth Dyke (Editor-in-Chief) for initial scrutiny of the manuscript. We also thank the reviewers for their constructive and insightful commentaries on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences [2.17,3.9]; Science and Engineering Research Board [SR/FTP/ES-49/2012].