Systematic and Taxonomic Investigations of Newly Discovered Mammalian Fauna from Late Pliocene of the Siwalik Sub-group of Pakistan

Some new mammalian remains have been discovered in the new localities (Kangar, Dhilomora, Rasool pur, Nikki Rawal Wali) of the late Pliocene (3.5–2.58 Ma) of the Siwalik sub-group, Pakistan. This work describes the comprehensive systematic and taxonomic investigations of new fossils comprising molars and nasal horns belonging to three families including Bovidae (Kobus porrecticornis), Anthracotheriidae (Merycopotamus dissimilis), Rhinocerotidae (Rhinoceros sondaicus). The present study adds to the scanty data of Pliocene mammals of the Siwalik sub-group of Pakistan. Taxonomic and morphological studies of these new fossils give a novel insight to the dietary habitats of the late Pliocene fauna as higher hypsodonty indices and complex dental patterns indicate a coarser and tougher diet available to these mammals which coincide with the hypothesis of grasslands expansion after the famous late Miocene climatic and vegetational change in low-latitude regions, worldwide.