11-2 
IJIENET? : TBIAS OF THE HIMALAYAS. 
represent one single or two distinct palaeontological zones, although 
there is some evidence in favour of the latter alternative. 
The richest Upper Triassic fauna in Painkhanda is included in the 
Halorites limestone. It contains 67 species of Cephalopoda, 61 of them 
determinable specifically. Pamjuvavites and acatenate species of Halo- 
rites are the leading types. Bambanagites and Guemhelites — both of 
them rare elements in this fauna— are of exclusively Indian habit. The 
Alpine genera Metasihirites and Cyrtopleurites are replaced by their 
Indian representatives Thetidites and Tihetites. 
Four species are probably identical with forms from the noric 
Hallstatt limestone, namely : — 
Pinacoceras Metternichii Hau. 
parma Mojs. 
,, postparma Mojs. 
Dionites cf. Asholus Mojs. 
As has been demonstrated by E. v. Mojsisovics, the fauna of the 
Halorites limestone has relations with the fauna? botli of the lower 
(lacic) and middle noric (alaunic) substages. But the preponderance 
of lacic elements, together with the absence of all types confined to the 
alaunic substage exclusively, is so obvious, that the lower noric or 
lacic age of the Halorites limestone can be established with certainty. 
The fauna of the Juvavites beds of Spiti also bears tlie stamp of a 
lacic age, but does not show any close affinity to the fauna of the 
Halorites limestone. Three species only are identical, and two more 
very nearly allied, but those specific similarities are confined to 
forms which do not play any important part in the lower noric 
faunae of Painkhanda or Spiti. Halorites and Parajuvavites, the two 
most prominent elements in the fauna of the Halorites limestone, have 
not been met with in Spiti, where they are replaced by species of 
Juvavites, which do not show any close affinity to the congeneric forms 
of the Alpine region. Although the lower noric cephalopod beds of 
Spiti and Painkhanda must be correlated, both for stratigraphical and 
palaeontological reasons, their faunae exhibit very distinct local pecu- 
liarities in both districts. This difference between the faunae of the 
Juvavites beds in Spiti and the Halorites beds in the Bambanag section 
indicates a considerable change in the conditions of life since the end of 
the Muschelkalk epoch, the fauna of which is distinguished by a very 
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