Middle and late paleocene angiosperm pollen from Pakistan

Abstract

Abstract This paper is based on study of angiosperm pollen from (1) 75 upper Paleocene samples from eight coreholes in the Lower Indus coal region of southern Pakistan, (2) two middle Paleocene and two upper Paleocene outcrop samples from the northern part of this coal region, and (3) eight middle Paleocene samples from the Surghar and Salt ranges of northern Pakistan. Forty‐five formally named pollen species are illustrated as well as a number of informally named taxa. The known stratigraphic distributions are given particularly for the new species and for taxa that appear to have restricted stratigraphic ranges. The taxa studied include two new genera, Crassivestibulites and Rhombipollis, and 21 formally named new species: Triporopollenites ranikotensis, T. parviannulatus, T. cracentis, T. trilobus, Triatriopollenites rectus, Spinizonocolpites adamanteus, Longapertites psilatus, L. punctatus, L. discordis, L. dupliclavatus, Brevitricolpites vadosus, Myrtacidites secus, Warkallipollenitesi medius, W.? solox, W.? exilis, Porocolpopollenites? duplex,Compositoipollenites dilatus, Crassivestibulites karii, Yeguapollis prolatus, Rhombipollis geniculatus, and Polycolporopollenites calvus. Most taxa found in the upper Paleocene of southern Pakistan range throughout that subseries or are too rare to be useful as zonal indicators. However, three species do have range bases or tops that may be used for zoning or subzoning that interval. According to data of pollen and other fossils, the upper part of the Bara Formation of southern Pakistan is probably lower Selandian, whereas the lowermost part of the formation is probably upper Danian. More species of the brackish‐water palm pollen genus Spinizonocolpites are now known from the middle and upper Paleocene of Indo‐Pakistan than perhaps anywhere else in the world. Normapolles pollen is reported for the first time from the upper Paleocene of Indo‐Pakistan. This pollen, the previously reported Normapolles pollen in the Upper Cretaceous of India, and the apparent lack of Normapolles pollen in the middle Paleocene of Pakistan, support the hypothesis of sporadic filtered migrations from Eurasia to the Indo‐Pakistan island before the collision of the two continents in the middle Eocene.