From the Siwalik Group of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, new fossil reptile records are described. The Siwalik fauna from Haryana and Himachal is recorded from the pre-Pinjor and Pinjor beds (Upper Siwalik Subgroup: Pliocene—Lower Pleistocene). The reptile fauna includes Crocodylus aff. palustris , Gavialis cf. gangeticus , Rhamphosuchus crassidens , Batagur sp., Geoclemys hamiltoni and Hardella thurjii. The findings are significant as fossil reptiles from the Siwalik Group are scanty as compared to the richer mammalian fauna.
KeywordsFossilsReptilePinjor FormationSiwalikPliocene-PleistoceneNorth India
Johnson, N.M., Stix, J., Tauxe, L., Cerveny, P.F. and Tahirkheli, R.A.K. (1985) Paleomagnetic Chronology, Fluvial Processes, and Tectonic Implications of the Siwalik Deposits near Chinji Village, Pakistan. Journal of Geology, 93, 27-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/628917
Ranga Rao, A., Agarwal, R.P., Sharma, U.N., Bhalla, M.S. and Nanda, A.C. (1988) Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy and Vertebrate Palaeontology of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup of Jammu Hills, India. Journal Geological Society of India, 31, 361-385.
Cautley, P.T. (1836) Note on the Fossil Crocodile of the Sivàlik Hills. In: Cantley and Hodgson, Eds., Reptiles and Mammals of Indian Sub-Continent, Reprinted from Asiatic Researches, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 25-32.
Cautley, P.T. (1836) The Fossil Gharial of the Sivàlik Hills. In: Cantley and Hodgson, Eds., Reptiles and Mammals of Indian Sub-Continent, Reprinted from Asiatic Researches, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 32-38.
Lydekker, R. (1885) Siwalik and Narbada Chelonia. Palaeontologia Indica, 3, 154-209.
Lydekker, R. (1886) Siwalik Crocodilia, Lacertilia and Ophidia. Palaeontologia Indica, 3, 210-240.
Lydekker, R. (1886) Catalogue of the Remains of Siwalik Vertebrata Contained in the Geological Department of the Indian Museum Calcutta, (II), Aves, Reptilia and Pisces. Government of India Press, Calcutta, 1-23.
Tewari, B.S. and Badam, G.L. (1969) A New Species of Fossil Turtle from the Upper Siwalik of Pinjore, India. Palaeontology, 12, 555-558.
Steel, R. (1973) Handbuch der Palaeoherpetologie, Part 16: Crocodylia. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, 116 p.
Mlynarski, M. (1976) Handbuch der Palaeoherpetologie. Part 7. Testudines. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 130 p.
Badam, G.L. (1979) Pleistocene Fauna of India. Deccan College, Pune, 250 p.
Patnaik, R. and Schleich, H.H. (1993) Fossil Crocodile Remains from the Upper Siwalik of India. Mitt. Bayer. Staatsslg. Palaont. Hist. Geol., 33, 91-117.
Corvinus, G. and Schleich, H.H. (1994) An Upper Siwalik Reptile Fauna from Nepal. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, 173, 239-259.
Das, I. (1991) Taxonomic Status of the Pleistocene Turtle Geoclemys sivalensis. Journal of Herpetology, 25, 104-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1564804
Sahni, M.R. and Khan, E. (1964) Stratigraphy, Structure and Correlation of the Upper Shivaliks East of Chandigarh. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India, 4, 61-74.
Sastry, M.V.A., Bhatt, D.K., Dutta, A.K., Verma, B.C., Ranga Rao, A. and Ganju, J.L. (1981) Excursion Guide. Proceeding Field Conference N\Q Boundary 1979, IGCP 41, Chandigarh, 223-241.
Azzaroli, A. and Napoleone, G. (1982) Magneto Stratigraphic Investigation of the Upper Sivaliks near Pinjor, India. The Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 87, 739-762.
Nanda, A.C. (1981) Occurrence of the Pre-Pinjor Beds in the Vicinity of Chandigarh. In: Sastry, M.V.A., Kurien, T.K., Dutta, A.K. and Biswas, S., Eds., Field Conference Neogene/Quaternary Boundary, India, 1979, Proceedings Geological Survey of India, 113-116.
Nanda, A.C. (1994) Upper Siwalik Mammalian Faunas from Chandigarh and Jammu Regions with Comments on Certain Faunal Discrepancies. In: Ahmed, A. and Sheikh, A.M., Eds., Geology in South Asia—I, Hydrocarbon Institute of Pakistan, Islamabad, 39-45.
Verma, B.C. (1989) Search for Microvertebrates in the Upper Siwalik of Markanda Valley, Sirmur District, Himachal Pradesh and Development of Upper Siwalik Biostratigraphy. Records of the Geological Survey of India, 122, 309-312.
Nanda, A.C. (2002) Upper Siwalik Mammalian Faunas of India and Associated Events. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 21, 47-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(02)00013-5
Nanda, A.C. (2015) Siwalik Mammalian Faunas of the Himalayan Foothills with Reference to Biochronology, Linkages and Migration. Publication of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Monograph Series No. 2, 341 p.
Pilgrim, G.E. (1932) The Fossil Carnivora of India. Palaeontologia Indica, 18, 232 p.
Pilgrim, G.E. (1938) Are the Equidae Reliable for the Correlation of the Siwalik with the Coenozoic Stages of North America? Records of the Geological Survey of India, 73, 437-482.
Sangode, S.J., Kumar, R. and Ghosh, S.K. (1996) Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy of the Siwalik Sequence of Haripur Area (H.P.), NW Himalaya. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 47, 683-704.
Cande, S.C. and Kent, D.V. (1995) Revised Calibration of the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research, 100, 6093-6095. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/94JB03098
Nanda, A.C. (2008) Comments on the Pinjor Mammalian Fauna of the Siwalik Group in Relation to the Post-Siwalik Faunas of Peninsular India and Indo-Gangetic Plain. Quaternary International, 192, 6-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2007.06.022
Nanda, A.C., Sati, D.C. and Mehra, G. (1991) Preliminary Report on the Stratigraphy and Mammalian Faunas of the Middle and Upper Siwalik, West of River Yamuna, Paonta, Himachal Pradesh. Journal of Himalayan Geology, 2, 151-158.
Nanda, A.C. (1997) Some Biostratigraphic Observations Based on the Upper Siwalik Faunas of the Siwalik Group of India and Nepal. In: Wijayananda, N.P., Cooray, P.G. and Mosley, P., Eds., Geology in South Asia—II, Geological Survey & Mines Bureau, Dehiwala, 171-189.
Maskey, T.M. and Schleich, H.H. (1992) Untersuchungen und Schutzmaβnahmen zum Gangesgavial in Südnepal. Natur und Museum, 122, 258-267.
Patnaik, R. (1991) Micropalaeontology, Biostratigraphy and Palaeoenvironmental Analysis of the Siwalik Sequences in the Saketi-Nahan Area (H.P.). Ph.D. Thesis, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Ranga Rao, A., Nanda, A.C., Sharma, U.N. and Bhalla, M.S. (1995) Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy of the Pinjor Formation (Upper Siwalik) near Pinjore, Haryana. Current Science, 68, 1231-1236.
Kumaravel, V., Sangode, S.J., Kumar, R. and Siddaiah, N.S. (2005) Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy of Plio-Pleistocene Pinjor Formation (Type Locality), Siwalik Group, NW Himalaya, India. Current Science, 88, 1453-1461.