Miocene Hominoids from Pakistan

Remains of hominoid primates collected by Yale Peabody Museum Geological Survey of Pakistan expeditions to the Siwalik Group rocks of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan, are described. They consist of facial, gnathic, dental, and postcranial remains of Ramapithecus, Sivapithecus, and Gigantopithecus. They are discussed anatomically and without precise taxonomic attributions. The hominoids come from 24 localities, the majority being around eight million years old. The depositional environments of 21 hominoid localities are documented in the form of microstratigraphic sections. These sections depict depositional and postdepositional features that are necessary for interpreting the facies of fossiliferous horizons. Within the predominantly fluvial Siwalik Group sediments, a three-fold division of facies is convenient for distinguishing certain taphonomic influences on hominoid and other vertebrate fossils. These facies are 1) channel, 2) channel margin, and 3) floodplain. A locality consists of one or more fossiliferous horizons, and thus one or more facies may be represented. Interpretations of the facies represented at each locality accompany the microstratigraphic sections.