“Endemism” Relative to Space, Time, and Taxonomic Level

Abstract

Faunal assemblages consist of immigrants, endemics and long-term residents; changes in proportions of these categories through time reflect general aspects of faunal stability and turnover. To study stability and change in the long biostratigraphic succession of Miocene terrestrial mammalian faunas recorded mainly in the Potwar Plateau Siwaliks of Pakistan, we distinguish long-term residents and assess new appearances as endemic vs. immigrant components. Our data represent the biogeography of the northern Indian subcontinent, but because neighboring areas of similar age are not as well known, virtually all species are found only there, and the proportion of the fauna that is immigrant is not apparent. We use preceding faunal assemblages to judge whether individual species might have originated there. We find many long-term residents in the Siwaliks, and of new species, most are immigrants and fewer are likely to have originated endemically. Siwalik rodents and artiodactyls show high rates of immigration for both during the early middle Miocene, followed by declining immigration but continuing residents. In the late middle Miocene both groups show stability, with a high proportion of long-term residents, and high endemism among rodents. In contrast, late Miocene rodent and artiodactyl patterns differ. Rodents decline in diversity but show increased immigration and new long-term residents; artiodactyls show turnover but then recover with many persisting residents.