Palaeoecology of the middle miocene sivalik sediments of a part of Jammu and Kashmir state (India)
Abstract The present communication deals with a reconstruction of the ecological set-up of Middle Miocene Sivalik fauna of Ramnagar (Jammu and Kashmir), which is a well-known hominoid-bearing locality in India. The sediments of this basin are referable to the Lower Sivalik Chinji Formation and an age of between 11 and 13 m.y. can be assigned to them on a faunal basis. The Chinji deposits at Ramnagar were deposited in a fluviatile environment by a meandering riverine system with broad floodplains. The nature of the sediments suggests oxidizing, warm, and possibly humid conditions. The faunal assemblage of this basin is of mixed type and forms with varied habitat preferences are preserved. There is a distinct bias against smaller forms in this assemblage which can be partially attributed to various taphonomic agents operating on the bone material before burial. Among mammals the tragulids are the best represented. Teeth and vertebrae are the most abundant elements in this assemblage. The faunal assemblage appears to be sampled from three distinct communities, viz., aquatic and semiaquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal. The fauna on the whole suggests a warm climate. The ecological diversity of mammalian fauna is indicative of a dominantly woodland habitat, more wooded than the modern one, with some lesser habitats interspersed within it.