RECORD OF BOVIDEAN FOSSILS FROM THE PINJOR FORMATION OF THE SIWALIK GROUP, SOLAN DISTRICT, HIMACHAL PRADESH

摘要

A large number of mammalian vertebrate fossils including fossils of bovids were recovered from the sandy and silty horizons, especially from the horizontal or low-dipping beds of the Pinjor Formation of the Siwalik Group from a number of places in the Nalagarh area, Solan district, H.P. Recovery of fossils was more in the horizons where calcretised concretions are developed. Our fossil collection includes isolated molars, ramus fragments, horns and limb bones belonging to bovids, equids, cervids, proboscids, hippopotamids, felids, camelids and rhinocerotids. The fossils of bovids are quite abundant, both in number and generic variations mainly belonging to Bos sp., Bubalus sp., Boselaphus sp., Gazella sp. and Sivaceros sp. The fossil assemblage suggests that the area had grasslands and water bodies to support a rich and diverse bovid population during deposition of the Pinjor Formation.