Abstract
Palaeobiogeographic analysis of Indian tetrapods during the Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary time has recognized that both vicariance and geodispersal have played important roles in producing biogeographic congruence. The biogeographic patterns show oscillating cycles of geodispersal (Late Cretaceous), followed by congruent episodes of vicariance and geodispersal (Early Eocene), followed by another geodispersal event (Middle Eocene). New biogeographic synthesis suggests that the Late Cretaceous Indian tetrapod fauna is cosmopolitan with both Gondwanan and Laurasian elements. Throughout most of the Cretaceous, India was separated from the rest of Gondwana, but in the latest Cretaceous it reestablished contact with Africa through Kohistan-Dras (K-D) volcanic arc, and maintained biotic link with South America via Ninetyeast Ridge-Kerguelen-Antarctica corridor. These two geodispersal routes allowed exchanges of “pan-Gondwana” terrestrial tetrapods from Africa, South America, and Madagascar. During that time India also maintained biotic connections with Laurasia across the Neotethys via Kohistan-Dras Arc and Africa. During the Palaeocene, India, welded to the K-D Arc, rafted like a “Noah’s Ark” as an island continent and underwent rapid cladogenesis because of allopatric speciation. Although the Palaeocene fossil record is blank, Early Eocene tetrapods contain both endemic and cosmopolitan elements, but Middle Eocene faunas have strong Asian character. India collided with Asia in Early and Middle Eocene time and established a new northeast corridor for faunal migration to facilitate the bidirectional “Great Asian Interchange” dispersals.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Ashok Sahni for setting the stage on Indian palaeobiogeography. We thank J. G. M. Thewissen and two anonymous reviewers for providing useful comments and insights. We thank Jeff Martz for arranging some illustrations. Texas Tech University and PALAEOMAP Project of University of Texas at Arlington supported this research.
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Chatterjee, S., Scotese, C. (2010). The Wandering Indian Plate and Its Changing Biogeography During the Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary Period. In: New Aspects of Mesozoic Biodiversity. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, vol 132. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10311-7_7
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