Chitarwata Formation

The Chitarwata Formation is a geological formation in western Pakistan, made up of Oligocene and early Miocene terrestrial fluvial facies. The sediments were deposited in coastal depositional environments (estuarine, strandplain and tidal flats) when Pakistan was partly covered by the Tethys Ocean.

Chitarwata Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Oligocene (Tabenbulakian)-Early Miocene ~
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Bugti Member
Overlies	Vihowa Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Claystone
Location
Coordinates	29.0°N 69.0°E / 29.0; 69.0
Approximate paleocoordinates	19.4°N 67.7°E / 19.4; 67.7
Region	Balochistan
Country	Pakistan
Type section
Named for	Chitarwata
Chitarwata Formation (Pakistan)

Paleomagnetic data indicates an age range of around 28 to 17 million years ago, with its base in the Oligocene, and its upper boundary, where it meets the overlying Vihowa Formation, of the Early Miocene.

Together with the Vihowa Formation, the Chitarwata Formation records the sedimentation of the Himalayan foreland basin during the collision of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, the transition from marginal marine to fluvial environments, and the rise of the Himalayas.

Fossil content

The Chitarwata Formation has provided a wealth of terrestrial mammal fossils of the late Paleogene and early Neogene, or Tabenbulakian; the last of the Asian land mammal ages (ALMA).

Among many others, the following fossils are reported from the formation:

Mammals

Artiodactyl

Anthracothere

Anthracotheriidaes of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Anthracotherium	A. adiposum
	A. bugtiense
	A. silistrense
Bugtitherium	B. grandincisivum
Microbunodon	M. silistrense
Parabrachyodus	P. hyopotamoides
Sivameryx	S. palaeindicus

Entelodonts

Entelodonts of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Paraentelodon	P. sp.

Giraffid

Giraffids of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Progiraffa	P. exigua

lophiomerycids

lophiomerycidaes of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Nalameryx	N. savagei
	N. sulaimani
Lophibaluchia	L. pilbeami
Lophiomeryx	L. kargilensis

Ruminants

Ruminants of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Bugtimeryx	B. pilgrimi
Paalitherium	P. gurki

Perissodactyl

Paraceratheriidae

Paraceratheriidaes of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Buzdartherium	B. gulkirao
Paraceratherium	P. bugtiense

Rhinocerotidae

Rhinocerotidaes of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Aprotodon	A. smithwoodwardi
Brachypotherium	B. fatehjangense
Epiaceratherium	E. magnum
Pleuroceros	P. blanfordi

Marsupials

Marsupials of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Asiadidelphis	A. akbarbugtii

Rodents

Rodents of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Atavocricetodon	A. paaliense
Baluchimys	B. barryi
	B. chaudryi,
	B. ganeshapher
Bugtimys	B. zafarullahi
Downsimys	D. margolisi
Fallomus	F. ginsburgi
	F. quraishyi
	F. razae
Hodsahibia	H. azrae
	H. beamshaiensis
	H. gracilis
Lindsaya	L.derabugtiensis
Primus	P. cheemai
	P. microps
Spanocricetodon	S. sulaiman
Prokanisamys	P. arifi
	P. kowalskii
Pseudocricetodon	P. nawabi
Welcommoides	W. gurki
Zindapiria	Z. quadricollis

Primates

Primates of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Bugtilemur	B. mathesoni
Bugtipithecus	B. inexpectans
Guangxilemur	Guangxilemur singsilai
Phileosimias	P. brahuiorum
	P. kamali

Proboscidean

Proboscideans of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Deinotherium	D. sp.

Reptiles

Reptiles of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Asifcroco	A. retrai			A crocodilian.
Astorgosuchus	A. bugtiensis			A crocodilian.

Fish

Fishs of the Chitarwata Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Materials	Notes	Image
Carcharhinus	C. balochenisis
	C. perseus
Cretolamna	Cretolamna twiggensis
Hemipristis	H. heteropleurus
Nebrius	N. obliquum

Further reading

• S. Adnet, P. -O. Antoine, S. R. Hassan Baqri, J. Crochet, L. Marivaux, J. Welcomme, and G. Métais. 2007. New tropical carcharhinids (chondrichthyes, Carcharhiniformes) from the late Eocene–early Oligocene of Balochistan, Pakistan: Paleoenvironmental and paleogeographic implications. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 30(2):303-323
• G. Métais, P.-O. Antoine, S. R. H. Baqri, M. Benammi, J.-Y. Crochet, D. Franceschi, L. Marivaux and J.-L. Welcomme. 2006. New remains of the enigmatic cetartiodactyl Bugtitherium grandincisivum Pilgrim, 1908, from the upper Oligocene of the Bugti Hills (Balochistan, Pakistan). Naturwissenschaften 93(7):348-355
• E. H. Lindsay, L. J. Flynn, I. U. Cheema, J. C. Barry, K. Downing, A. R. Rajpar, and S. M. Raza. 2005. Will Downs and the Zinda Pir Dome. Palaeontologia Electronica 8(1):19A:1-18
• L. Marivaux, P.-O. Antoine, S. R. H. Baqri, M. Benammi, and Y. Chaimanee. 2005. Anthropoid primates from the Oligocene of Pakistan (Bugti Hills): Data on early anthropoid evolution and biogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(24):8436-8441
• P.-O. Antoine, J.-L. Welcomme, L. Marivaux, I. Baloch, M. Benammi and P. Tassy. 2003. First record of Paleogene Elephantoidea (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from the Bugti Hills of Pakistan. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(4):977-980
• J.-L. Welcomme and L. Ginsburg. 1997. Mise en évidence de l'Oligocène sur le territoire des Bugti (Balouchistan, Pakistan). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série IIA 325(12):999-1004
• L.J. Flynn, L.L. Jacobs, and I.U. Cheema. 1986. Baluchimyinae, A New Ctenodactyloid Rodent Subfamily from the Miocene of Baluchistan. American Museum Novitates 2841:1-58

External links

• Palaeontologia Electronica