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Appearance of Hipparion in the Tertiary of the Siwalik Hills of North India, Kashmir and West Pakistan

Nature volume 229, pages 408–409 (1971)Cite this article

Abstract

Hipparion species are important markers in faunal correlations. Their appearance is normally taken to define the boundary between the Miocene and Pliocene in continental deposits1. The genus is thought to have evolved in North America, probably around 12 million years ago2, and the spread of early, primitive Hipparion species to Eurasia has consequently been presumed to have occurred at this time, although it might have happened earlier if Hipparion older than 12 million years is dated in North America. The relative age of the faunas of the classic Siwalik deposits of north-west India and Pakistan is of considerable interest for the dating of the fossil primates Dryopithecus and Ramapithecus. The age of these primates is important because Ramapithecus has been recognized as the earliest probable hominid and it may lie in the direct line of human ancestry.

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Affiliations

  1. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520

    ELWYN L. SIMONS, DAVID PILBEAM & S. J. BOYER

Authors
  1. ELWYN L. SIMONS
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  2. DAVID PILBEAM
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  3. S. J. BOYER
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SIMONS, E., PILBEAM, D. & BOYER, S. Appearance of Hipparion in the Tertiary of the Siwalik Hills of North India, Kashmir and West Pakistan. Nature 229, 408–409 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/229408a0

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