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Shiwalik Hills
The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Paleolithic archaeological culture. Geography The Sivalik Hills are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It is wide with an average elevation of . Between the Teesta and Raidāk Rivers in Assam is a gap of about . They are well known for their Neogene and Pleistocene aged vertebrate fossils. Geology Geologically, the Sivalik Hills belong to the Tertiary deposits of the outer Himalayas. They are chiefly composed of sandstone and conglomerate rock formations, which are the solidified detritus of the Himalayas to their north; they are poorly consolidated. The sedimentary rocks comprising t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deposition (geology)
Deposition is the geological process in which sediments, soil and rock (geology), rocks are added to a landform or landmass. Wind, ice, water, and gravity Transportation (sediment), transport previously Weathering, weathered surface material, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment. This occurs when the forces responsible for sediment transportation are no longer sufficient to overcome the forces of gravity and friction, creating a resistance to motion; this is known as the null-point hypothesis. Deposition can also refer to the buildup of sediment from Organic matter, organically derived matter or chemical processes. For example, chalk is made up partly of the microscopic calcium carbonate skeletons of marine plankton, the deposition of which induced chemical processes (diagenesis) to deposit further calcium carbonate. Similarly, the formation of coal begins with the deposition of organic material, mainly from plants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffidae
The Giraffidae are a family (biology), family of ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a recent common ancestor with deer and bovids. This family, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, presently comprises only two extant genera, the giraffe (between one and eight, usually four, species of ''Giraffa'', depending on taxonomic interpretation) and the okapi (the only known species of ''Okapia''). Both are confined to sub-Saharan Africa: the giraffe to the open savannas, and the okapi to the dense rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo. The two genera look very different on first sight, but share a number of common features, including a long, dark-coloured tongue, lobed canine teeth, and horns covered in skin, called ossicones. Taxonomy Evolutionary background The giraffids are ruminants of the clade Pecora. Other extant pecorans are the families Antilocapridae (pronghorns), Cervidae (deer), Moschidae (musk deer), and Bovidae (Bovini, cattl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sivatherium Giganteum
''Sivatherium'' ("Shiva's beast", from Shiva and ''therium'', Latinized form of Ancient Greek θηρίον -'' thēríon'') is an extinct genus of giraffid that ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia. The species ''Sivatherium giganteum'' is, by weight, one of the largest giraffids known, and also one of the largest ruminants of all time. ''Sivatherium'' originated during the Late Miocene (around 7 million years ago) in Africa and survived through to the late Early Pleistocene ( Calabrian) until around 1 million years ago. Description ''Sivatherium'' resembled the modern okapi, but was far larger, and more heavily built, being about tall at the shoulder, in total height with a weight up to . A newer estimate has come up with an estimated body mass of about or . This would make ''Sivatherium'' one of the largest known ruminants, rivalling the modern giraffe and the largest bovines. This weight estimate is thought to be an underestimate, as it does not take into account th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megantereon
''Megantereon'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in Eurasia, Africa and possibly North America from the late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene. It is a member of the tribe Smilodontini, and closely related to and possibly the ancestor of the famous American sabertooth ''Smilodon''. In comparison to ''Smilodon'' it was somewhat smaller, around the size of a jaguar, though it is thought to have had a similar hunting strategy as an ambush predator. Taxonomy and evolution The type species of ''Meganteron'', ''M. cultridens'' was described by Georges Cuvier in 1824, as '' Ursus cultridens'', based on two teeth collected from Pliocene sediments in the Valdarno region of Tuscany, Italy, erroneously considering them to belong to a bear. In addition to the two teeth of ''Megantereon'', Cuvier included another, much older tooth from the late Miocene of Eppelsheim in Germany in the species, which is now known to belong to the unrelated sab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalochelys Atlas
''Megalochelys'' ("great turtle") is an extinct genus of tortoises that lived from the Miocene to Pleistocene. They are noted for their giant size, the largest known for any tortoise, with a maximum carapace length of over 2 m (6.5 ft) in ''M. atlas''. The genus ranged from western India and Pakistan to as far east as Sulawesi and Timor in Indonesia, though the island specimens likely represent distinct species. Extinct animals of Indonesia Description One species of ''Megalochelys,'' ''M. atlas'', is the largest known tortoise, with shells of in length having been reported. Popular weight estimates for this taxon have varied greatly with the highest estimates reaching up to in some instances.Orenstein, R. 2001. Survivors in Armor: Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins. Key Porter Books Ltd. However, weights based on volumetric displacement of the skeleton suggest a mass of around .Brown, B. 1931. The Largest Known Land Tortoise. Nat. Hist. Vol. 31:184–187. ''M. at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Pleistocene
The Chibanian, more widely known as the Middle Pleistocene (its previous informal name), is an Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale or a Stage (stratigraphy), stage in chronostratigraphy, being a division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. The Chibanian name was officially ratified in January 2020. It is currently estimated to span the time between 0.7741 annum, Ma (774,100 years ago) and 0.129 Ma (129,000 years ago), also expressed as 774.1–129 ka. It includes the transition in palaeoanthropology from the Lower Paleolithic, Lower to the Middle Paleolithic over 300 ka. The Chibanian is preceded by the Calabrian (stage), Calabrian and succeeded by the Late Pleistocene. The beginning of the Chibanian is the Brunhes–Matuyama reversal, when the Earth's magnetic field last underwent reversal. Its end roughly coincides with the termination of the Penultimate Glacial Period and the onset of the Last Interglacial period (correspondin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene followed the Oligocene and preceded the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by distinct global events but by regionally defined transitions from the warmer Oligocene to the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, Afro-Arabia collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and allowing the interchange of fauna between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans and Ape, hominoids into Eurasia. During the late Miocene, the conn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colossochelys Atlas
''Megalochelys'' ("great turtle") is an extinct genus of tortoises that lived from the Miocene to Pleistocene. They are noted for their giant size, the largest known for any tortoise, with a maximum carapace length of over 2 m (6.5 ft) in ''M. atlas''. The genus ranged from western India and Pakistan to as far east as Sulawesi and Timor in Indonesia, though the island specimens likely represent distinct species. Extinct animals of Indonesia Description One species of ''Megalochelys,'' ''M. atlas'', is the largest known tortoise, with shells of in length having been reported. Popular weight estimates for this taxon have varied greatly with the highest estimates reaching up to in some instances.Orenstein, R. 2001. Survivors in Armor: Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins. Key Porter Books Ltd. However, weights based on volumetric displacement of the skeleton suggest a mass of around .Brown, B. 1931. The Largest Known Land Tortoise. Nat. Hist. Vol. 31:184–187. ''M. atl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terai
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scrub savannah, sal forests and clay rich swamps. In North India, the Terai spreads from the Yamuna River eastward across Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The Terai is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion. Nepal's Terai stretches over , about 23.1% of Nepal's land area, and lies at an elevation of between . The region comprises more than 50 wetlands. North of the Terai rises the Bhabar, a narrow but continuous belt of forest about wide. Etymology The Urdu word tarāʼī means "lands lying at the foot of a watershed" or "on the banks of a river; low ground flooded with water, valley, basin, marshy ground, marsh, swamp; meadow". In Hindi, the region is called 'tarāī' m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscillation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) between its limits to the north and south of the equator. Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the Wet season, rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The term is also sometimes used to describe locally heavy but short-term rains. The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the Monsoon#Africa (West African and Southeast African), West African, Asian–Australian monsoon, Australian, the North American monsoon, North American, and South American monsoons. The term was first Glossary of the British Raj, used in English in British India and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhabar
Bhabar or Bhabhar is a region south of the Lower Himalayas and the Sivalik Hills in Garhwal and Kumaon, India. The Bhabhar region contains some of the largest cities of Kumaon and Garhwal: Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani, Rishikesh, Ramnagar, Tanakpur and Kotdwar. It is the alluvial apron of sediments washed down from the Sivaliks along the northern edge of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Indo-Gangetic Plains are generally thought of as a flat region with no variations, although this isn't true. The plains can be classified into four regions on the basis of relief features. The Bhabar is a belt of 8–16 km lying parallel to the slopes of the Sivaliks, where the river descending from the mountains deposit pebbles. The streams flow through the pebbles the region, hence disappearing from sight. They re-emerge only after some distance south, in the relief feature Terai. Etymology The name ''Bhabar'' refers to a local tall-growing grass, '' Eulaliopsis binata'', used for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
