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Constraints of bipolar and tropical bivalves on the northward drifting of the Indian Plate
Accepted Manuscript Constraints of bipolar and tropical bivalve on the northward drifting of the Indian Plate Xin Rao, Jingeng Sha, Bo Peng, Xiaolin Zhang, Huawei Cai PII: DOI: Reference:
S1367-9120(18)30276-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.07.014 JAES 3576
To appear in:
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences
Received Date: Revised Date: Accepted Date:
29 October 2017 9 July 2018 9 July 2018
Please cite this article as: Rao, X., Sha, J., Peng, B., Zhang, X., Cai, H., Constraints of bipolar and tropical bivalve on the northward drifting of the Indian Plate, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jseaes.2018.07.014
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Constraints of bipolar and tropical bivalve on the northward drifting of the Indian Plate Xin Raoa, Jingeng Shaa*, Bo Pengb, Xiaolin Zhangc, Huawei Caid a
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of
Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] b
Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing 210016, China; e-mail:
[email protected] c
CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth
and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China; e-mail: [email protected] d
CAS Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing
Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences，Nanjing 210008，China; e-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author Tel: 0086-25-83282181 Fax: 0086-25-83357026
Abstract. We employed a novel approach using the bipolar and tropical distributions of 1
bivalves to track the northward drift of the Indian Plate. The Kimmeridgian‒Tithonian Retroceramus, Tithonian Anopaea and Buchia, and Aptian‒Cenomanian Aucellina were mainly restricted to areas poleward of 30°N and 30°S, but middle Oxfordian‒latest Cretaceous rudist bivalves were mainly restricted to areas between the paleolatitudes 30°S and 30°N. The distributions of these paleolatitude indicators in late Mesozoic time record five major drifting phases of the northward translation of the Indian Plate. In the Late Jurassic‒earliest Cretaceous, the Indian Plate was a part of Gondwana, and various bipolar bivalves were present. During the Aptian‒Albian interval, the Indian Plate was separated from Gondwana, but most parts of this plate were still under cold water, likely south of 30°S, and even at higher latitudes, because bipolar bivalves still existed at the northern margin of this plate, in the Tethyan Himalaya. In the Cenomanian, the northern part of the Indian Plate translated north into a warm/subtropical environments, north of 30°S, but southern India was still in a cold region, south of 30°S, as evidenced by Aucellina, which had already disappeared from the northern part of the Indian Plate, but still survived in southern India. In the latest Campanian, at least the Tethyan Himalaya of the northern margin of the Indian Plate had drifted into the area north of 30°S, based on the appearance of Bournonia haydeni then in Tibet. Rudists occupied both the northern (Tethyan Himalaya) and southern (southern India) parts of the India Plate by the Maastrichtian, which demonstrate that the Indian Plate completely entered the tropical area, and roughly coincided with the initial collision between the Indian and Eurasian continents around the Maastrichtian‒Paleocene. 2
Keywords: Biogeography; Indian Plate; Mesozoic; bipolar bivalves; tropic bivalves
3
1. Introduction The Neo-Tethys was at least 6,000 km wide between its north and south margins during the mid-Cretaceous (Chang, 1990). The drifting of the continental part of the Indian Plate (Indian Craton), including the Tethyan Himalaya, its crossing of the vast ocean from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere, and its collision with the northern Lhasa Block of the Eurasian Plate, have been discussed by many geologists, but mainly based on paleomagnetism (e.g., Molnar and Tapponnier, 1975; Klootwijk, 1979; Bingham and Klootwijk, 1980; Westphal and Pozzi, 1983; Zhu and Teng, 1984; Bess et al., 1984; Partriat and Achache, 1984, Chen et al., 2010). Stratigraphy, sedimentary and provenance analysis, and isotopic dating (e.g., Beck et al., 1995; Rowley, 1996; Ding et al., 2005; Cai et al., 2011; Hu et al., 2012, 2015, 2016; DeCelles et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2014), as well as comprehensive tectonic analysis (e.g., Aitchison et al., 2007; Metcalfe, 2013), have also been used to track the plates’ positions. However, very few studies have used the biogeography of fossils to constrain the phases of India's northward drift (e.g., Wen, 1999; Niu et al., 2011). Most bivalves are benthic; generally, they cannot live planktonic lifestyles except in the larval stage. Some bivalves, such as rudists, are even sessile and must be attached to the substrate or other shells, which makes it difficult for them to disperse across vast oceans; most of these bivalves could only move short distances over the substrate (Wen, 1999; Skelton, 2013). Different groups of bivalves are adapted to different living environments, such as different latitudes, temperatures, and substrates, which makes bivalves potentially good biogeographical indicators (Crame, 1993; 4
Wen, 1999). The strong latitude dependence of bivalve distributions in areas other than India suggests strong control by temperature, itself a function of latitude. For example, some taxa have bipolar distributions, whereas some others could only survive in tropical‒subtropical environments (Sohl, 1987; Sha, 1996). The changing composition of bivalve assemblages through time on the Indian Plate can thus be used to track the position of the plate relative to water masses of different temperatures. On the Indian Plate, there are both bipolarly distributed Tithonian‒Cenomanian bivalves (e.g., Crame, 1983, 1996; Sha, 1991, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Wen,
2000;
Sha
et
al.,
2006)
and
tropically‒subtropically
distributed
Campanian‒Maastrichtian rudists (e.g., Wen et al., 1976; Wen, 1999; Scott et al., 2010; Rao et al, 2012), which recorded the drifting phases of the Indian Plate from south to north. In the Lhasa Block and its environs, there are no bipolar bivalves. Instead, there are tropically‒subtropically-distributed Aptian‒Albian rudists (e.g., Yang et al., 1982; Scott et al., 2010; Rao et al, 2015; Sha and Cestari, 2016), which imply that the Lhasa Block had already drifted into a subtropical area by the mid-Cretaceous. This short article aims to investigate the major northward drifting phases of the Indian Plate, based on the historical distribution of these latitude indicators on the Indian Plate and the Lhasa Block and adjacent areas, separated by the Neo-Tethys (Fig. 2).
2. Distribution patterns of the bivalve taxa used for paleolatitude constraint Distinct, latitudinally distributed Tethyan, Boreal, and Austral mollusk faunas were developed with the establishment of latitudinal temperature gradients since the Jurassic, particularly the Late Jurassic (e.g., Ogg, 2004; Sha et al., 2006; Sha, 2007). 5
In the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous interval, some bivalves, such as the epibyssate benthic bivalves Retroceramus in the Kimmeridgian‒Tithonian, Anopaea and Buchia in the Tithonian, and Aucellina in the Aptian‒Cenomanian, had distinct bipolar and antitropical distributions, mainly limited to the areas of north of 30°N and south of 30°S, and were particularly prominent at high latitudes, with occasional exceptions in deep water, in the Mexican and Crimean areas, below 30°N (Crame, 1986, 1993; Sha, 1991, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Sha et al., 2006). However, some bivalves, particularly the sessile benthic Late Jurassic (middle Oxfordian)‒latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) rudists, which were significant carbonate mound builders and sediment components of neritic carbonates, had tropical-subtropical and antipolar distributions, mainly restricted to paleolatitudes between 30°S and 30°N, with exceptions up to 40°N paleolatitude. They spread out along shallow warm waters from the Late Jurassic to the end of the Maastrichtian (e.g., Yanin, 1989; Chartrousse and Masse, 2004; Sano, 2008; Sha and Cestari, 2016).
3. Historical distribution of Late Mesozoic bipolar and tropical‒subtropical bivalves on the Indian Plate and the Lhasa Block and environs 3.1 Kimmeridgian/Tithonian‒early Berriasian/Valanginian During the Kimmeridgian‒Valanginian, when the Indian Plate was still attached to Gondwana (e.g., Smith et al., 1994), the rudist bivalve fauna had lower diversity. Although this fauna originated as early as the middle Oxfordian (e.g., Cestari, R. & Sartorio, D., 1995; Skelton, 2013), there was no record of rudists from Gondwana, as 6
well as the Lhasa Block and its environs. However, at the end of the Jurassic, in the Tithonian, Buchia, Anopaea, and Retroceramus existed, and were particularly abundant at the northern margin of Gondwana, including the Tethyan Himalaya, the India craton, Australia, and the Philippines, and in areas north of 60°N paleolatitude. (Crame, 1986, 1993; Sha, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Wen, 1999; Sha et al., 2006) (Fig. 2, A). Buchia was abundant in the Tethyan Himalaya; Tithonian taxa are represented by the B. blanfordiana (Fig. 1A, B), which was reported from the Upper Menkadun Formation of the Nyalam, Gyirong and Dingri counties in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya (Wen et al., 1976; Gou, 1991; Xia and Bai, 2005). Retroceramus was recorded from the Zhegu-Zedang section of the Naidong County (Wen et al., 1976) and the Weimei Formatin of the Gyangze County (Li, 1990) in the Northern Tethyan Himalaya, and Xuomo Formation of the Nyalam County in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya (Fig. 1C). Anopaea was described by Wen et al. (1976) from the Beimala Mt. of the Gyirong County in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya (Fig. 1D).
[Fig. 1. hereabouts]
3.2 Aptian‒Albian During the Aptian‒Albian interval, although the Indian Plate had already separated from Gondwana and drifted northward (e.g., Smith et al., 1994), there existed Aucellina, a typical bipolar bivalve group with a wide distribution in the north and south high latitudes, including Australia (Crame, 1986, 1993; Sha, 1991, 1996, 7
2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Wen, 2000; Sha et al., 2006). However, rudists were still absent, which suggests that the Indian Plate was still located in the high southern latitudes. There were no rudists in the Gondwana area; however, they had colonized the Lhasa Block in the Aptian‒Albian, particularly during the Albian (e.g., Yang et al., 1982; Scott et al., 2010; Rao et al, 2015, 2017; Sha and Cestari, 2016) (Fig. 2, B). The Aucellina found from the Tethyan Himalaya were represent by A. hughendenensis (Fig. 1E), which is a very important element of the Tambo Formation (upper Albian) of the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland and the Northern Territory, Australia. It was described by Wen (2000) from the Dongshan Formation of section K in Gamba County. The representative of Aptian‒Albian rudists of the Lhasa Block is Auroradiolites biconvexus (Fig. 1F, G), which is common in the Langshan Formation that widely exposed in the northern portion of the Lhasa Block, and the Sangzugang Formation in scattered outcrops along the southern margin of this block (Rao et al., 2015, 2017). Auroradiolites is endemic to the Southwest Asian/Pacific region; in addition to the Lhasa Block, it has also been recorded from Iran, central and eastern Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan, and Ladakh in northern India, as well as Hokkaido in northern Japan. All of these localities were associated with terranes and blocks limited to the northeastern margin of the Tethys and the western Pacific margin (Rao et al., 2017).
3.3 Cenomanian During the Cenomanian, bipolar bivalves disappeared from the Tethyan Himalaya and Australia, but Aucellina was present in southern India (Fig. 1H, I) (Stoliliczka, 8
1871; Sha, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Sha et al., 2006). There was still an absence of rudists on the Indian Plate, which implies that although the southern Indian Plate had drifted north, it was still south of 30°S (Fig. 2, C).
3.4 Turonian‒Santonian No bipolar or subtropical bivalve record has been reported from the Turonian‒Santonian on the Indian Plate, or from the Lhasa Block.
3.5 Campanian‒Maastrichtian The rudist Bournonia haydeni Douvillé (= Bournonia tibetica Douvillé) has been reported from the Zongshan Formation of Gamba County, Tethyan Himalaya (Fig. 1J, K, L). As the age of the Zongshan Formation is latest Campanian to Maastrichtian (Hu et al., 2016, 2017), and B. haydeni has also been found from the uppermost Campanian of Koh-i-Elburz in the Mazar-i-Sharif area, northern Afghanistan (Vogel, 1971), the geological range of B. haydeni should be latest Campanian to Maastrichtian. It follows that the first appearance of B. haydeni in the Tethyan Himalaya was likely in the latest Campanian, and that it then flourished there until the end of the Maastrichtian (Wen, 1999, Rao et al., 2012). Bournonia mutabilis Stoliczka, which is a sister species of B. haydeni Douvillé, colonized southern India in the Maastrichtian (Fig. 1M, N) (Monthanti and Pons, 1999; Ramkumar et al., 2003). This finding indicates that the whole Indian Plate had already entered the tropics in the Maastrichtian. As the sessile rudists could not disperse directly across vast oceans, and B. haydeni occurred both at the northern margin (northern Afghanistan) and 9
southern margin (Tethyan Himalaya) of the Tethys from the latest Campanian, it is reasonable to assume that the Tethyan Himalaya was approaching the Lhasa Block as of that time (Fig. 2, D, E).
4. Major phases of northward drift The distributions of bipolar and tropical‒subtropical bivalves in late Mesozoic time has indicated the following five major drifting phases of the Indian Plate northward:
[Fig. 2. hereabouts]
Phase 1. During the Late Jurassic, the Indian Plate was a part of Gondwana with numerous bipolar bivalves indicative of high southern latitudes (Fig. 2, A). Phase 2. With separation of the Indian Plate from Gondwana and its drift northward, the diversity of bipolar bivalves on the Indian Plate became rather low. During the Aptian‒Albian, the Indian Plate was separated from Gondwana, but most parts of this plate were stayed in a cold area, likely south of 30°S or even higher latitudes, because bipolar bivalves still existed at the northern margin of this plate (Tethyan Himalaya) although diversity was very low with only one genus (Aucellina), and there were no tropical‒subtropical bivalves (Fig. 2, B). Phase 3. In the Cenomanian, the northern part of the Indian Plate entered the warm and subtropical area north of 30°S, but southern India was still in the colder region south of 30°S, based on the disappearance of Aucellina from the northern part of the Indian Plate, whereas it still existed on the southern part (Fig. 2, C). 10
Phase 4. In the Campanian, the Indian Plate completely entered the tropical‒subtropical area, and at least the Tethyan Himalaya had arrived in the area above 30°S, as bipolar bivalves were totally extinct from the plate, and rudists occupied the Tethyan Himalaya, judging from the presence of Bournonia haydeni Douvillé (= Bournonia tibetica Douvillé) there, which was also reported in the uppermost Campanian of Afghanistan (Fig. 2, D). Phase 5. During the Maastrichtian, the Indian Plate was located in the tropics based on the presence of rudists in both the Tethyan Himalaya and southern India (Fig. 2, E). 5. Discussion As mentioned in the Introduction, The northward drifting of the Indian Plate has been investigated using different methods for decades, although controversy remains. Hu et al. (2016) summarized and described these different methods, discussed the rationale, results, inferences, and problems associated with each, and concluded that the initial collision in the central–eastern Himalaya occurred in the middle Paleocene (59 ± 1 Ma). Most of these methods are focused on the timing of the India–Asia collision; only a few, such as paleomagnetic constraints, may represent the drifting processes of the Indian Plate in the late Mesozoic. Comparison of the available paleomagnetic data of the Tethyan Himalaya by Hu et al. (2016) and the biogeographical conclusions of this paper confirms that our data support the paleomagnetic results. The exchange of fauna between Asia and India represents the approach and/or 11
connection of these two continents (Hu et al., 2016). Bournonia haydeni is an endemic rudist taxon found only in the uppermost Campanian of northern Afghanistan and the uppermost Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Tethyan Himalaya. Because northern Afghanistan was already connected with the Asian continent at that time, we conclude that dispersal of the rudist fauna between Asia and India occurred before the latest Campanian (before ~72.1 Ma), earlier than the mixing of large benthic foraminifera in the late Paleocene and terrestrial faunas in the earliest Eocene (Clementz et al., 2011; BouDagher-Fadel et al., 2015; Hu et al., 2016).
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41730317, 41702014], “Strategic Priority Research Program (B)” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant numbers XDB03010101, XDPB05], and by the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy [grant number 20162110]. It is also a contribution to UNESCO-IUGS IGCP (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-International Union of Geological Sciences) Project 632. We thank Prof. Paul E. Olsen and Prof. Xiumian Hu for their helpful and constructive comments.
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Caption Figure 1. Bipolar and tropic‒subtropical bivalves from the India Plate. A, B, Buchia blanfordiana from the Gyirong County (Wen et al., 1976). C, Retroceramus everesti from the Zhegu-Zedang Section of the Naidong County (Wen et al., 1976). D, Anoperna from the Gyirong County (Wen et al., 1976). E, Aucellina hughendenensis from the Gamba County (Wen, 2000). F, Auroradiolites biconvexus from the Sangzugang Formation of the Lhasa Block (Rao et al., 2017). G, Auroradiolites biconvexus from the Langshan Formation of the Lhasa Block (Rao et al., 2015). H, I, Aucellina from the southern India (Stoliliczka, 1871). J, K, L, Bournonia haydeni from the Gamba County (Wen et al., 1976). M, N, Bournonia mutabilis from the southern India (Monthanti and Pons, 1999). Scale bars represent 10mm.
21
Figure 2. Major drifting phases of the Indian Plate northward based on the distributions of bipolar and tropic‒subtropical bivalves in late Mesozoic time.
22
23
Graphical abstract
]
24
Highlights 1. We used bipolar and tropical-subtropical bivalve distributions to reconstruct the major drifting phases of the Indian Plate northward until it collided with the Eurasian continent. 2. Five major northward-drifting phases of the Indian Plate were recognized based on the distributions of these paleolatitude-indicative bivalves in late Mesozoic time.
25
S1367-9120(18)30276-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.07.014 JAES 3576
To appear in:
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences
Received Date: Revised Date: Accepted Date:
29 October 2017 9 July 2018 9 July 2018
Please cite this article as: Rao, X., Sha, J., Peng, B., Zhang, X., Cai, H., Constraints of bipolar and tropical bivalve on the northward drifting of the Indian Plate, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jseaes.2018.07.014
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Constraints of bipolar and tropical bivalve on the northward drifting of the Indian Plate Xin Raoa, Jingeng Shaa*, Bo Pengb, Xiaolin Zhangc, Huawei Caid a
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of
Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] b
Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing 210016, China; e-mail:
[email protected] c
CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth
and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China; e-mail: [email protected] d
CAS Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing
Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences，Nanjing 210008，China; e-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author Tel: 0086-25-83282181 Fax: 0086-25-83357026
Abstract. We employed a novel approach using the bipolar and tropical distributions of 1
bivalves to track the northward drift of the Indian Plate. The Kimmeridgian‒Tithonian Retroceramus, Tithonian Anopaea and Buchia, and Aptian‒Cenomanian Aucellina were mainly restricted to areas poleward of 30°N and 30°S, but middle Oxfordian‒latest Cretaceous rudist bivalves were mainly restricted to areas between the paleolatitudes 30°S and 30°N. The distributions of these paleolatitude indicators in late Mesozoic time record five major drifting phases of the northward translation of the Indian Plate. In the Late Jurassic‒earliest Cretaceous, the Indian Plate was a part of Gondwana, and various bipolar bivalves were present. During the Aptian‒Albian interval, the Indian Plate was separated from Gondwana, but most parts of this plate were still under cold water, likely south of 30°S, and even at higher latitudes, because bipolar bivalves still existed at the northern margin of this plate, in the Tethyan Himalaya. In the Cenomanian, the northern part of the Indian Plate translated north into a warm/subtropical environments, north of 30°S, but southern India was still in a cold region, south of 30°S, as evidenced by Aucellina, which had already disappeared from the northern part of the Indian Plate, but still survived in southern India. In the latest Campanian, at least the Tethyan Himalaya of the northern margin of the Indian Plate had drifted into the area north of 30°S, based on the appearance of Bournonia haydeni then in Tibet. Rudists occupied both the northern (Tethyan Himalaya) and southern (southern India) parts of the India Plate by the Maastrichtian, which demonstrate that the Indian Plate completely entered the tropical area, and roughly coincided with the initial collision between the Indian and Eurasian continents around the Maastrichtian‒Paleocene. 2
Keywords: Biogeography; Indian Plate; Mesozoic; bipolar bivalves; tropic bivalves
3
1. Introduction The Neo-Tethys was at least 6,000 km wide between its north and south margins during the mid-Cretaceous (Chang, 1990). The drifting of the continental part of the Indian Plate (Indian Craton), including the Tethyan Himalaya, its crossing of the vast ocean from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere, and its collision with the northern Lhasa Block of the Eurasian Plate, have been discussed by many geologists, but mainly based on paleomagnetism (e.g., Molnar and Tapponnier, 1975; Klootwijk, 1979; Bingham and Klootwijk, 1980; Westphal and Pozzi, 1983; Zhu and Teng, 1984; Bess et al., 1984; Partriat and Achache, 1984, Chen et al., 2010). Stratigraphy, sedimentary and provenance analysis, and isotopic dating (e.g., Beck et al., 1995; Rowley, 1996; Ding et al., 2005; Cai et al., 2011; Hu et al., 2012, 2015, 2016; DeCelles et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2014), as well as comprehensive tectonic analysis (e.g., Aitchison et al., 2007; Metcalfe, 2013), have also been used to track the plates’ positions. However, very few studies have used the biogeography of fossils to constrain the phases of India's northward drift (e.g., Wen, 1999; Niu et al., 2011). Most bivalves are benthic; generally, they cannot live planktonic lifestyles except in the larval stage. Some bivalves, such as rudists, are even sessile and must be attached to the substrate or other shells, which makes it difficult for them to disperse across vast oceans; most of these bivalves could only move short distances over the substrate (Wen, 1999; Skelton, 2013). Different groups of bivalves are adapted to different living environments, such as different latitudes, temperatures, and substrates, which makes bivalves potentially good biogeographical indicators (Crame, 1993; 4
Wen, 1999). The strong latitude dependence of bivalve distributions in areas other than India suggests strong control by temperature, itself a function of latitude. For example, some taxa have bipolar distributions, whereas some others could only survive in tropical‒subtropical environments (Sohl, 1987; Sha, 1996). The changing composition of bivalve assemblages through time on the Indian Plate can thus be used to track the position of the plate relative to water masses of different temperatures. On the Indian Plate, there are both bipolarly distributed Tithonian‒Cenomanian bivalves (e.g., Crame, 1983, 1996; Sha, 1991, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Wen,
2000;
Sha
et
al.,
2006)
and
tropically‒subtropically
distributed
Campanian‒Maastrichtian rudists (e.g., Wen et al., 1976; Wen, 1999; Scott et al., 2010; Rao et al, 2012), which recorded the drifting phases of the Indian Plate from south to north. In the Lhasa Block and its environs, there are no bipolar bivalves. Instead, there are tropically‒subtropically-distributed Aptian‒Albian rudists (e.g., Yang et al., 1982; Scott et al., 2010; Rao et al, 2015; Sha and Cestari, 2016), which imply that the Lhasa Block had already drifted into a subtropical area by the mid-Cretaceous. This short article aims to investigate the major northward drifting phases of the Indian Plate, based on the historical distribution of these latitude indicators on the Indian Plate and the Lhasa Block and adjacent areas, separated by the Neo-Tethys (Fig. 2).
2. Distribution patterns of the bivalve taxa used for paleolatitude constraint Distinct, latitudinally distributed Tethyan, Boreal, and Austral mollusk faunas were developed with the establishment of latitudinal temperature gradients since the Jurassic, particularly the Late Jurassic (e.g., Ogg, 2004; Sha et al., 2006; Sha, 2007). 5
In the Late Jurassic–Cretaceous interval, some bivalves, such as the epibyssate benthic bivalves Retroceramus in the Kimmeridgian‒Tithonian, Anopaea and Buchia in the Tithonian, and Aucellina in the Aptian‒Cenomanian, had distinct bipolar and antitropical distributions, mainly limited to the areas of north of 30°N and south of 30°S, and were particularly prominent at high latitudes, with occasional exceptions in deep water, in the Mexican and Crimean areas, below 30°N (Crame, 1986, 1993; Sha, 1991, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Sha et al., 2006). However, some bivalves, particularly the sessile benthic Late Jurassic (middle Oxfordian)‒latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) rudists, which were significant carbonate mound builders and sediment components of neritic carbonates, had tropical-subtropical and antipolar distributions, mainly restricted to paleolatitudes between 30°S and 30°N, with exceptions up to 40°N paleolatitude. They spread out along shallow warm waters from the Late Jurassic to the end of the Maastrichtian (e.g., Yanin, 1989; Chartrousse and Masse, 2004; Sano, 2008; Sha and Cestari, 2016).
3. Historical distribution of Late Mesozoic bipolar and tropical‒subtropical bivalves on the Indian Plate and the Lhasa Block and environs 3.1 Kimmeridgian/Tithonian‒early Berriasian/Valanginian During the Kimmeridgian‒Valanginian, when the Indian Plate was still attached to Gondwana (e.g., Smith et al., 1994), the rudist bivalve fauna had lower diversity. Although this fauna originated as early as the middle Oxfordian (e.g., Cestari, R. & Sartorio, D., 1995; Skelton, 2013), there was no record of rudists from Gondwana, as 6
well as the Lhasa Block and its environs. However, at the end of the Jurassic, in the Tithonian, Buchia, Anopaea, and Retroceramus existed, and were particularly abundant at the northern margin of Gondwana, including the Tethyan Himalaya, the India craton, Australia, and the Philippines, and in areas north of 60°N paleolatitude. (Crame, 1986, 1993; Sha, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Wen, 1999; Sha et al., 2006) (Fig. 2, A). Buchia was abundant in the Tethyan Himalaya; Tithonian taxa are represented by the B. blanfordiana (Fig. 1A, B), which was reported from the Upper Menkadun Formation of the Nyalam, Gyirong and Dingri counties in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya (Wen et al., 1976; Gou, 1991; Xia and Bai, 2005). Retroceramus was recorded from the Zhegu-Zedang section of the Naidong County (Wen et al., 1976) and the Weimei Formatin of the Gyangze County (Li, 1990) in the Northern Tethyan Himalaya, and Xuomo Formation of the Nyalam County in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya (Fig. 1C). Anopaea was described by Wen et al. (1976) from the Beimala Mt. of the Gyirong County in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya (Fig. 1D).
[Fig. 1. hereabouts]
3.2 Aptian‒Albian During the Aptian‒Albian interval, although the Indian Plate had already separated from Gondwana and drifted northward (e.g., Smith et al., 1994), there existed Aucellina, a typical bipolar bivalve group with a wide distribution in the north and south high latitudes, including Australia (Crame, 1986, 1993; Sha, 1991, 1996, 7
2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Wen, 2000; Sha et al., 2006). However, rudists were still absent, which suggests that the Indian Plate was still located in the high southern latitudes. There were no rudists in the Gondwana area; however, they had colonized the Lhasa Block in the Aptian‒Albian, particularly during the Albian (e.g., Yang et al., 1982; Scott et al., 2010; Rao et al, 2015, 2017; Sha and Cestari, 2016) (Fig. 2, B). The Aucellina found from the Tethyan Himalaya were represent by A. hughendenensis (Fig. 1E), which is a very important element of the Tambo Formation (upper Albian) of the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland and the Northern Territory, Australia. It was described by Wen (2000) from the Dongshan Formation of section K in Gamba County. The representative of Aptian‒Albian rudists of the Lhasa Block is Auroradiolites biconvexus (Fig. 1F, G), which is common in the Langshan Formation that widely exposed in the northern portion of the Lhasa Block, and the Sangzugang Formation in scattered outcrops along the southern margin of this block (Rao et al., 2015, 2017). Auroradiolites is endemic to the Southwest Asian/Pacific region; in addition to the Lhasa Block, it has also been recorded from Iran, central and eastern Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan, and Ladakh in northern India, as well as Hokkaido in northern Japan. All of these localities were associated with terranes and blocks limited to the northeastern margin of the Tethys and the western Pacific margin (Rao et al., 2017).
3.3 Cenomanian During the Cenomanian, bipolar bivalves disappeared from the Tethyan Himalaya and Australia, but Aucellina was present in southern India (Fig. 1H, I) (Stoliliczka, 8
1871; Sha, 1996, 2012; Sha and Fürsich, 1994; Sha et al., 2006). There was still an absence of rudists on the Indian Plate, which implies that although the southern Indian Plate had drifted north, it was still south of 30°S (Fig. 2, C).
3.4 Turonian‒Santonian No bipolar or subtropical bivalve record has been reported from the Turonian‒Santonian on the Indian Plate, or from the Lhasa Block.
3.5 Campanian‒Maastrichtian The rudist Bournonia haydeni Douvillé (= Bournonia tibetica Douvillé) has been reported from the Zongshan Formation of Gamba County, Tethyan Himalaya (Fig. 1J, K, L). As the age of the Zongshan Formation is latest Campanian to Maastrichtian (Hu et al., 2016, 2017), and B. haydeni has also been found from the uppermost Campanian of Koh-i-Elburz in the Mazar-i-Sharif area, northern Afghanistan (Vogel, 1971), the geological range of B. haydeni should be latest Campanian to Maastrichtian. It follows that the first appearance of B. haydeni in the Tethyan Himalaya was likely in the latest Campanian, and that it then flourished there until the end of the Maastrichtian (Wen, 1999, Rao et al., 2012). Bournonia mutabilis Stoliczka, which is a sister species of B. haydeni Douvillé, colonized southern India in the Maastrichtian (Fig. 1M, N) (Monthanti and Pons, 1999; Ramkumar et al., 2003). This finding indicates that the whole Indian Plate had already entered the tropics in the Maastrichtian. As the sessile rudists could not disperse directly across vast oceans, and B. haydeni occurred both at the northern margin (northern Afghanistan) and 9
southern margin (Tethyan Himalaya) of the Tethys from the latest Campanian, it is reasonable to assume that the Tethyan Himalaya was approaching the Lhasa Block as of that time (Fig. 2, D, E).
4. Major phases of northward drift The distributions of bipolar and tropical‒subtropical bivalves in late Mesozoic time has indicated the following five major drifting phases of the Indian Plate northward:
[Fig. 2. hereabouts]
Phase 1. During the Late Jurassic, the Indian Plate was a part of Gondwana with numerous bipolar bivalves indicative of high southern latitudes (Fig. 2, A). Phase 2. With separation of the Indian Plate from Gondwana and its drift northward, the diversity of bipolar bivalves on the Indian Plate became rather low. During the Aptian‒Albian, the Indian Plate was separated from Gondwana, but most parts of this plate were stayed in a cold area, likely south of 30°S or even higher latitudes, because bipolar bivalves still existed at the northern margin of this plate (Tethyan Himalaya) although diversity was very low with only one genus (Aucellina), and there were no tropical‒subtropical bivalves (Fig. 2, B). Phase 3. In the Cenomanian, the northern part of the Indian Plate entered the warm and subtropical area north of 30°S, but southern India was still in the colder region south of 30°S, based on the disappearance of Aucellina from the northern part of the Indian Plate, whereas it still existed on the southern part (Fig. 2, C). 10
Phase 4. In the Campanian, the Indian Plate completely entered the tropical‒subtropical area, and at least the Tethyan Himalaya had arrived in the area above 30°S, as bipolar bivalves were totally extinct from the plate, and rudists occupied the Tethyan Himalaya, judging from the presence of Bournonia haydeni Douvillé (= Bournonia tibetica Douvillé) there, which was also reported in the uppermost Campanian of Afghanistan (Fig. 2, D). Phase 5. During the Maastrichtian, the Indian Plate was located in the tropics based on the presence of rudists in both the Tethyan Himalaya and southern India (Fig. 2, E). 5. Discussion As mentioned in the Introduction, The northward drifting of the Indian Plate has been investigated using different methods for decades, although controversy remains. Hu et al. (2016) summarized and described these different methods, discussed the rationale, results, inferences, and problems associated with each, and concluded that the initial collision in the central–eastern Himalaya occurred in the middle Paleocene (59 ± 1 Ma). Most of these methods are focused on the timing of the India–Asia collision; only a few, such as paleomagnetic constraints, may represent the drifting processes of the Indian Plate in the late Mesozoic. Comparison of the available paleomagnetic data of the Tethyan Himalaya by Hu et al. (2016) and the biogeographical conclusions of this paper confirms that our data support the paleomagnetic results. The exchange of fauna between Asia and India represents the approach and/or 11
connection of these two continents (Hu et al., 2016). Bournonia haydeni is an endemic rudist taxon found only in the uppermost Campanian of northern Afghanistan and the uppermost Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Tethyan Himalaya. Because northern Afghanistan was already connected with the Asian continent at that time, we conclude that dispersal of the rudist fauna between Asia and India occurred before the latest Campanian (before ~72.1 Ma), earlier than the mixing of large benthic foraminifera in the late Paleocene and terrestrial faunas in the earliest Eocene (Clementz et al., 2011; BouDagher-Fadel et al., 2015; Hu et al., 2016).
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41730317, 41702014], “Strategic Priority Research Program (B)” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant numbers XDB03010101, XDPB05], and by the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy [grant number 20162110]. It is also a contribution to UNESCO-IUGS IGCP (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-International Union of Geological Sciences) Project 632. We thank Prof. Paul E. Olsen and Prof. Xiumian Hu for their helpful and constructive comments.
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Caption Figure 1. Bipolar and tropic‒subtropical bivalves from the India Plate. A, B, Buchia blanfordiana from the Gyirong County (Wen et al., 1976). C, Retroceramus everesti from the Zhegu-Zedang Section of the Naidong County (Wen et al., 1976). D, Anoperna from the Gyirong County (Wen et al., 1976). E, Aucellina hughendenensis from the Gamba County (Wen, 2000). F, Auroradiolites biconvexus from the Sangzugang Formation of the Lhasa Block (Rao et al., 2017). G, Auroradiolites biconvexus from the Langshan Formation of the Lhasa Block (Rao et al., 2015). H, I, Aucellina from the southern India (Stoliliczka, 1871). J, K, L, Bournonia haydeni from the Gamba County (Wen et al., 1976). M, N, Bournonia mutabilis from the southern India (Monthanti and Pons, 1999). Scale bars represent 10mm.
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Figure 2. Major drifting phases of the Indian Plate northward based on the distributions of bipolar and tropic‒subtropical bivalves in late Mesozoic time.
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Graphical abstract
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Highlights 1. We used bipolar and tropical-subtropical bivalve distributions to reconstruct the major drifting phases of the Indian Plate northward until it collided with the Eurasian continent. 2. Five major northward-drifting phases of the Indian Plate were recognized based on the distributions of these paleolatitude-indicative bivalves in late Mesozoic time.
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