Study on plant fossils from the Siwalik sediments of Far Western Nepal

Abstract

Study on the plant megafossils comprising well preserved leaves from the Siwalik sediments of Bardiya and Surkhet area in the Himalayan foot-hills of Far Western Nepal has been done. The leaf-impressions described here represent the first collection from the Siwalik sediments of Babai and Surkhet valleys. The leaves show closest affinity with six extant taxa belonging to the families Poaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Ampelidaceae, Myrsinaceae and Ebenaceae. The present day distribution of their modern equivalent taxa indicates a phytogeographical link between Nepal and the South East Asian countries during the Siwalik Period. The physiognomic characters of the fossil leaves and the habit and habitat of the extant comparable taxa suggest that a warm humid climate with plenty of rainfall prevailed in this region during the deposition of Siwalik sediments.