Historical Biogeography of the late Cretaceous Vertebrates of India: Comparison of Geophysical and Paleontological Data

VERMA O; KHOSLA A; GOIN FJ; KAUR J

Cretaceous Period: Biotic Diversity and Biogeography.

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin

Lugar: Albuquerque; Año: 2016;

The Cretaceous was a special time for the Indian plate as it was separated from Gondwana landmasses and started its northward journey across the Tethys Sea towards the Equator. The northward movement of this plate implied shifting latitudes and climate belts, until it finally collided with Asia during the early Cenozoic. Geophysical data and plate tectonic models show that after splitting from Gondwana, the Indian plate remained as an isolated continent for more than 45 Ma during the Cretaceous; thus, it predicts a remarkable biotic endemism for the continent. Paleontological data on the Cretaceous vertebrates of India is best known for Maastrichtian time; in turn, the pre-Maastrichtian record is very poor - it contains very few fossils of fishes and marine reptiles. The Maastrichtian fossil record comprises vertebrates of Gondwana and Laurasian affinities and some endemic, ancient lineages as well. In order to explain the presence of vertebrates of multiple affinities in the late Cretaceous of India, various biogeographic models have been proposed. The latter include extinctions, endemism, vicariance, dispersal (sweepstakes, filters and corridors), ?Noah?s Ark,? ?Docked Noah?s Ark,? ?Viking Funeral Ship? and?land spans,? thus accounting for the biotic implications of the Cretaceous northward drifting of the Indian plate. The current paleontological data suggest the existence both southern and northern biotic dispersals/connections,however, geophysical data instead favor a biotic endemism for the Indian plate during the late Cretaceous. Here, an attempt has been made to document the consistencies between geophysical and paleontological data, in order to understand the biogeography of the late Cretaceous vertebrates of India.