Eocene mammal faunas from northern Indo-Pakistan

We present a summary of the Eocene mammal faunas of Indo-Pakistan based on study of the known faunas and new collections. New taxa described here are the carpolestid Parvocristes oligocollis, the plesiadapid Jattadectes mamikheli (both new families for the subcontinent), the hyaenodontid Paratritemnodon jandewalensis, the arctocyonid Karakia longidens, the raoellid Khirtharia aurea, and the helaletid Jhagirilophus chorgalensis. Based on the faunal evidence and considering the geological setting, we also evaluate the uniformity of the Eocene faunas from northern Indo-Pakistan. Tentatively, we propose that three chronologically distinct faunas occur in Northern IndoPakistan. These are, from oldest to youngest, (1) the Banda Daud Shah Fauna, (2) the Ganda Kas Fauna, and (3) the Kalakot Fauna. Although there are broad similarities between these faunas and Eocene faunas of the Northern Hemisphere, the Indian subcontinent retained a highly distinctive fauna in that period.