CENOZOIC ERA
A series of Paleogene – Neogene basins extend from Northern to Southern Thailand. The Krabi Basin in the South, considered to be Late Eocene based on vertebrate fossils, has yielded many fossils, including approximately 6 reptile species: snakes, crocodiles, and turtles, and 27 species of mammals: primates, artiodactyls, perrissodactyls. A thick deposit of shells, predominantly of gastropods, also occurs. In addition, plant macrofossils and pollen were collectedfrom the basin.
The basins in Northern Thailand include Mae Moh, Mae Tip, Pong, Chiang Muan, Lampang, Li, and Mae Sod basins. About 43 mammalian species, including a primate, carnivores, artiodactyls, bats, tree shrews, rodents, and proboscideans, have been recovered. Reptiles and mollusks also occur as fossils. Plant macrofossils, especially angiosperm leaves and conifer twigs and needles, as well pollen, have been found in some of these basin. Although the animal remains are mostly Miocene, the plant fossils range from Middle Miocene to Early Miocene or Oligocene.
In the Northeast, vertebrate fossils consist of numerous mammalian species, including about 9 proboscidean species, a primate, carnivores, hoofed mammals, and reptiles, such as crocodiles, gavials, soft-shelled turtles, and turtles. Many specimens were found in the Mun River floodplains in Nakhon Ratchasima Province.
3. Paleontological parks, museums, prominent fossil sites, and fossils conservation
NORTHERN THAILAND
Among the prominent fossil sites in the North of Thailand, two places conserve and display fossils to the public: a museum in Mae Moh, Lampang Province and the Petrified Forest Park in Tak Province.
Lampang Province
Mae Moh prominent fossil site and Museum of Lignite Study Center (Mae Moh)
Geologists and paleontologists from the DMR and other researchers have come to study the fossils and geological data of the Mae Moh mine. Most fossils are found in lignite zones, aged to the Middle Miocene based upon the fossil assemblage and magnetostratigraphy. Vertebrate fossils include fishes, snakes, turtles, soft-shelled turtles, crocodiles, and mammals. The mammals were identified as proboscideans: Stegolophodon sp., gomphotheres; rhinoceros: Gaindatherium sp.; otters: Siamogale thailandicus; and artiodactyls: Stephanocemus rucha. Among these mammalian fossils, teeth of a carnivore from the family Amphicyonidae were discovered. They were assigned to a new species, Maemohcyon potisati, thought to be related to the ancestors of bears and pandas . Plant fossils, wood, leaves, and pollen have also been recovered from the mine.
In 2003, the Museum of the Lignite Study Centerin honor of King Prajadhipok, funded by EGAT, was built next to the mine to serve as a learning center. It was opened to the public in 2005. It is divided into three zones: King Rama VII and the history of lignite, geological sciences, and operation of the mine. The geological section includes displays on paleontology and evolution of life. Visitors can learn about the origin of the earth and the evolution of life through geological time in a 3 dimensional movie theater. Most kinds of fossils from the lignite mine and some donated specimens are displayed in glass cabinets, in the layers of the stratigrapic model of the lignite mine fossil site.
Tak Province
Thailand's First Petrified Forest Park
A large petrified log, partially exposed for about 1 meter, was found by a villager in a reserve forest at Ban Tak District, Tak Province, in October 2003. The discovery of the petrified wood was reported to the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, under the administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The officer from the department subsequently came to examine the petrified log and survey the surrounding area. The petrified log was further excavated and was found to be about 4 m and 1.8 m wide at the base and the middle, respectively. The trunk was exposed to a length of 21 m without reaching the upper end. Many additional pieces of petrified wood were found scattered in the surrounding area covering 35 km2 or more. Some pieces were found on the soil surface and some only partly exposed. From the survey and potentiality of the natural resources of the area, it was proposed on 29 December 2003 that a forest park be set up, covering an area of 2,000 hectares.