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October201
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Index fossils in
Pakistan
Submitted by: Khurram Shahzad

Submitted to: Mumtaz Ali Khan

Table of contents
page no;

1. Index fossils
02
2. Types of index fossils and occurrences in
Pakistan 03

a. Trilobite
03
b.Brachiopods
04
c. Pelecypods
06
d.Gastropods
07

3. References
08

1. Index fossils;
Any animal or plant preserved in the rock record of
the Earth that is characteristic of a particular span of geologic time or
environment. A useful index fossil must be distinctive or easily recognizable,
abundant, and have a wide geographic distribution and a short range
through time. Index fossils are the basis for defining boundaries in the
geologic time scale and for the correlation of strata. In marine strata, index
fossils that are commonly used include the single-celled Protista with hard
body parts and larger forms such as ammonoids. In terrestrial sediments of
the Cenozoic Era, which began about 65.5 million years ago, mammals are
widely used to date deposits. All of these animal forms have hard body parts,
such as shells, bones, and teeth, and evolved rapidly.

Fig.1. Keyed to the relative time scale are examples of index fossils, the
forms of life which existed during limited periods of geologic time and thus
are used as guides to the age of the rocks in which they are preserved.

2; Types of index fossils and its occurrence in

Pakistan:
2. a;

Trilobite:

Trilobites are hard-shelled, segmented creatures that

lived hundreds of millions of years ago in the Earth's ancient seas. They are
considered to be one of our planet's earliest complex life-forms and are one
of the key signature creatures of the Paleozoic Era. Trilobites went extinct
before dinosaurs even existed. The name 'TRILOBITE' means 'three lobed"
and is derived from the fact these animals had bodies featuring
three longitudinal lobes, not lateral (head, body, tail) as is often thought.
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The lateral division of three parts is shared by many arthropods, not just
trilobites. Still most baffling is the incredible diversity of sizes and features
that made up the trilobite group. Many bizarre species co-existed with highly
specialized body parts that defy the theories of evolution in their "sudden"
emergence and diversity during the Early Cambrian Period in what is known
as the 'Cambrian Explosion. Trilobites were among the world's first arthropods, a
phylum of hard-shelled creatures with multiple body segments and jointed legs
(although the legs, antennae and other finer structures of trilobites only very rarely are
preserved). They constitute an extinct class of arthropods, Trilobite that is comprised of
over 15,000 known species.
Occurrences in Pakistan:
Trilobites fossils of Cambrian to Permian age are found in
eastern salt range of khewra sandstone and jutana dolomite and khusar Formation in
D.I.Khan. It is also found in various localities in Pakistan.

xm,z
Fig .2.Trilobites fossils.

2. b: Brachiopods:

The brachiopods are a large group of solitary and

exclusively marine organisms with a very good geologic history throughout
most of the Phanerozoic and are among the most successful benthic
macro invertebrates of the Paleozoic. They are typified by two mineralized
valves which enclose most of the animal. Like the bryozoans, brachiopods
are filter feeders which collect food particles on a ciliated organ called the
lophophore. An excellent example of a brachiopod lophophore can be seen
in the Recent terebratulid. Brachiopods differ in many ways from
bryozoans (in both soft and hard-part morphology), and are thus
considered by most workers as a separate but closely related phylum.
However, one of the most distinguishing features of brachiopods is the
presence of a pedicle, a fleshy stalk-like structure that aids the animal in
burrowing and maintaining stability. The pedicle can be seen in the Recent
Lingula.

Currently, brachiopods are divided into two or three major groups. We

depart from your text in considering two major groups: Class Inarticuleta
(including lingulids), and Class Articuleta based on the presence or
absence of hinge teeth and sockets.

A large portion of this lab is designed to make you familiar with the
seemingly endless morphologic terms associated with brachiopods. This is
a necessary process, as understanding such features are the only tools
available to enable one to identify brachiopods with any success Although
it may seem unreasonable to ask one to learn the various groups
presented below, with a little common sense and observational skills,
recognition is actually easier then it may first seem.

Phylum Brachiopoda (Cambrian-Recent)

Class Inarticulata (Cambrian-Recent)
Class Articulata (Cambrian-Recent)
Order Orthida (Cambrian-Permian)
Order Strophomenida (Ordovician-Jurassic)
Order Pentamerida (Cambrian-Devonian)
Order Rhynchonellida (Ordovician-Recent)
Order Spiriferida (Ordovician-Jurassic)
Order Terebratulida (Devonian-Recent)

Brachiopods and WWII:

In 1941 the Fossil Invertebrate Section
at the Field Museum was making plans for a new and larger display but with
the start of World War II these plans were postponed. The Curator of Fossil
Invertebrates, Dr. Sharat Roy, served with the U.S. Army as a captain in the
India-Burma Theatre of war. Near the end of the war he was able to take a
month long leave and collect fossils (including a large collection of Permian
brachiopods) and other geologic specimens from the Salt Range in what was
then Punjab, India, but today is part of Pakistan. The Salt Range is named
after the rich salt deposits that are close to 500 meters (1600 feet) thick, but
is also famous (at least among geologists) for Permian brachiopods. He
shipped his fossil collection from the Salt Range back to the Field Museum.
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After the war Roy was made Chief Curator of the Geology Department and
expanded his areas of interest and began studying meteorites. In 1946 the
Field Museum hired a new curator of Fossil Invertebrates, Eugene S.
Richardson. One of Richardsons first assignments was identifying and
curating Roys collection of brachiopods from the Salt Range.
Occurrences in Pakistan:
Brachiopods from Permian-Triassic boundary beds are found
in Chhidru Formation, jutana dolomite and khewra sandstone. And also found in
mianwali Formation and chorgali Formation also.

Fig.3. Brachiopods fossils in Pakistan from khewra eastern salt range.

2. c: Pelecypods:
Pelecypods (peh-les'-i-pods) include oysters, clams,
mussels, and cockles. They have been found in some of the oldest marine rocks known
and still are very numerous in the seas and rivers today. In the past, some pearl buttons
were made from clam shells from the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. This major industry
caused near extinction of some species.
Most Pelecypods, also known as bivalves, have two shells that are mirror images of
each other, one on the right and one on the left. Each shell has a beak that points
forward and represents the spot where the shell began to grow. The top edge of each
shell commonly has several teeth and sockets that fit into those of the opposite shell to
make a hinge. The outside of the shell generally is ornamented by ribs, spines, and
growth lines.
Most Pelecypods form shell banks in the seas or rivers on sand and mud flats. Many
burrow into the mud or sand and even into wood or rock. Some oysters attach
themselves to rocks, and others creep about the sea floor by means of a hatchetshaped foot thrust between the open valves. A few (scallops) move by jet propulsion,
forcing water in a jet stream from openings at the beak end.
.
Occurrences in Pakistan:
In Pakistan Pelecypods fossils are of Permian
Triassic boundary is found in jutana dolomite and khewra sandstone in
Eastern salt range. And also found in chorgali Formation in Rumli Islamabad.

Fig.4. Pelecypods fossil in detail.

2.d: Gastropods:
Gastropods are one of the most diverse groups of
animals, both in form, habit, and habitat. They are by far the largest group of
molluscs, with more than 62,000 described living species, and they comprise
about 80% of living molluscs. Estimates of total extant species range from
40,000 to over 100,000, but there may be as many as 150,000 species!
There are about 13,000 named genera for both Recent and fossil gastropods.
They have a long and rich fossil record from the Early Cambrian that shows
periodic extinctions of sub clades, followed by diversification of new groups.
Gastropods have figured prominently in paleobiological and biological
studies, and have served as study organisms in numerous evolutionary,
biomechanical, ecological, physiological, and behavioral investigations. They
are extremely diverse in size, body and shell morphology, and habits and
occupy the widest range of ecological niches of all molluscs, being the only
group to have invaded the land.
Occurrences in Pakistan:
In Pakistan gastropods fossils of Permian Triassic
boundary are found in salt range. And also found in jutana dolomite in
eastern salt range chorgali Formation and also be here in chorgali Formation
in Rumli Islamabad.

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Fig.5. Gastropods fossils.

3. References:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

http://geology.about.com/od/glossaryofgeology/g/Index-Fossils.
http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/brachiopods.
http://www.utsa.edu/fieldscience/pelecypod_info.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/inverts/mollusca/gastropoda.
http://www.paleodirect.com/trilobites.

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