Abstract
New rodent and lagomorph fossils from the Hasnot–Tatrot area of northern Pakistan are presented here to complement knowledge of stratigraphic ranges and morphology of key late Neogene Siwalik taxa. Most of the material is from two sites near the village of Bhandar in strata of the late Miocene age Dhok Pathan Formation; one specimen comes from the Pliocene Tatrot beds. We apply previously established magnetostratigraphy to date the fossils, the Bhandar sites dating to 6.6–6.7 Ma. In describing the fossils, we emphasize new morphological information represented by the material. As surface finds, these fossils represent relatively large body size species: three bamboo rat relatives, a porcupine, and a rabbit. The bamboo rats (Rhizomyinae) are an endemic group, and both the porcupine (Hystrix) and the rabbit (Alilepus) represent late Miocene immigrants into the Indian subcontinent.
Kurzfassung
Neue Fossilien von Nagetieren und Hasenartigen aus dem Hasnot–Tatrot-Gebiet des nördlichen Pakistans werden hier vorgestellt, um die Kenntnis der stratigraphischen Verbreitung sowie morphologischer Bestimmungsschlüssel der spät-neogenen Siwalik-Taxa zu vervollständigen. Der Großteil des Materials stammt aus zwei Fundstellen nahe des Dorfes Bhandar, aus der Dhok Pathan-Formation (spätes Miozän); ein Exemplar kommt aus den pliozänen Tatrot-Schichten. Zur Datierung der Fossilien verwenden wir die bereits bestehende Magnetostratigraphie – die Bhandar-Fundstelle zeigt dabei ein Alter von 6,6 bis 6,7 Ma. Mit Beschreibung der Fossilien haben sich neue morphologische Informationen herausgestellt, welche das Material geliefert hat. Als Oberflächenfunde aufgesammelt, stellen diese Fossilien Arten mit relativ großen Körpergrößen dar: drei Bambusratten-Verwandte, ein Stachelschwein sowie ein Kaninchen. Die Bambusratten (Rhizomyinae) sind eine endemische Gruppe und sowohl das Stachelschwein (Hystrix) als auch das Kaninchen (Alilepus) präsentieren spät-miozäne Immigranten des Indischen Subkontinents.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the government of Pakistan and University of the Punjab authorities for supporting this research. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akhtar and Syed Ghyour Abbas are thanked for their help in the field. Mr. Adeeb Babar prepared Fig. 1. Dr. John C. Barry kindly advised us on age assessment of the strata of the Hasnot area. Irina Ruf made many helpful suggestions, and we thank Lutz Maul (and anonymous) for careful reading that led to an improved manuscript.
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Khan, M.A., Flynn, L.J. New small mammals from the Hasnot–Tatrot area of the Potwar Plateau, northern Pakistan. PalZ 91, 589–599 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-017-0375-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-017-0375-3