Two new fossil woods from the early Miocene of Kutch,Gujarat, India and their significance

The Kutch region of western India (Gujarat State) is today arid to semiarid and characterised by mostly ephemeral streams which carry water during the monsoon. The uneven distribution of rainfall and disturbed topography are the result of climate change during the Cenozoic period. Two fossil woods, namely Bauhinium palaeomalabaricum Prakash and Prasad (Fabaceae) and Ebenoxylon indicum Ghosh and Kazmi (Ebenaceae), are described from Kutch in order to provide insights into the palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate. Because the modern representatives of the present and previously described taxa from the same horizon are thermophilic in nature and grow in evergreen to deciduous forests, a warm and humid climate is interpreted. Furthermore, the finding of some mangrove taxa in the assemblage indicates the lagoonal to intertidal environment at the time of deposition.     

Early Eocene Primates from Gujarat, India

The oldest euprimates known from India come from the Early Eocene Cambay Formation at Vastan Mine in Gujarat. An Ypresian (early Cuisian) age of ∼53 Ma (based on foraminifera) indicates that these primates were roughly contemporary with, or perhaps predated, the India-Asia collision. Here we present new euprimate fossils from Vastan Mine, including teeth, jaws, and referred postcrania of the adapoids Marcgodinotius indicus and Asiadapis cambayensis. They are placed in the new subfamily Asiadapinae (family Notharctidae), which is most similar to primitive European Cercamoniinae such as Donrussellia and Protoadapis. Asiadapines were small primates in the size range of extant smaller bushbabies. Despite their generally very plesiomorphic morphology, asiadapines also share a few derived dental traits with sivaladapids, suggesting a possible relationship to these endemic Asian adapoids. In addition to the adapoids, a new species of the omomyid Vastanomys is described. Euprimate postcrania described include humeri, radii, femora, calcanei, and tali, most of which show typical notharctid features and are probably attributable to asiadapines. Anatomical features of the limb elements indicate that they represent active arboreal quadrupedal primates. At least one calcaneus is proximally shorter and distally longer than the others, resembling eosimiids in this regard, a relationship that, if confirmed, would also suggest an Asian or southeast Asian faunal connection. Isolated teeth from Vastan Mine recently attributed to a new eosimiid, Anthrasimias gujaratensis, appear to provide that confirmation. However, their attribution to Eosimiidae is equivocal. They are similar to teeth here tentatively referred to Marcgodinotius, hence A. gujaratensis may be a junior synonym of M. indicus. Corroboration of eosimiids at Vastan requires more compelling evidence. Although definitive conclusions are premature, available evidence suggests that the Vastan adapoids, at least, were derived from western European stock that reached India near the Paleocene-Eocene boundary.     

Early Eocene lagomorph (Mammalia) from Western India and the early diversification of Lagomorpha

We report the oldest known record of Lagomorpha, based on distinctive, small ankle bones (calcaneus and talus) from Early Eocene deposits (Middle Ypresian equivalent, ca 53 Myr ago) of Gujarat, west-central India. The fossils predate the oldest previously known crown lagomorphs by several million years and extend the record of lagomorphs on the Indian subcontinent by 35 Myr. The bones show a mosaic of derived cursorial adaptations found in gracile Leporidae (rabbits and hares) and primitive traits characteristic of extant Ochotonidae (pikas) and more robust leporids. Together with gracile and robust calcanei from the Middle Eocene of Shanghuang, China, also reported here, the Indian fossils suggest that diversification within crown Lagomorpha and possibly divergence of the family Leporidae were already underway in the Early Eocene.     

Lignites of Kutch,western India: Dinoflagellate biostratigraphy and palaeoclimate

The Eocene epoch in the Indian subcontinent was marked by widespread deposition of lignite and coal. While several of these deposits formed during the Early Eocene, corresponding to Early Eocene hyperthermal events, the lignites of Kutch in western India formed later during the Middle Eocene. An integrated biostratigraphy based on dinoflagellates and foraminifera assigns a Bartonian age to the succession, which likely corresponds to the time of the Middle Eocene warming. The spores, pollen, dinoflagellates and foraminifera suggest a restricted marine, near shore depositional environment adjacent to tropical rainforest. The lignites of Kutch suggest high precipitation during or just preceding the warm climate of the Middle Eocene.     

A new fossil wood from the highly diverse early Eocene equatorial forest of Gujarat (western India)

During the early Eocene (～55–52 Ma), when the Indian subcontinent relished equatorial climatic conditions, lignite was deposited along its north western margin. Lignite mines of northwestern India have proved to be an outstanding resource for palaeoenvironmental information. The Vastan lignite mine of the early Eocene age situated near Surat district (Gujarat) is one of the well-dated and fossiliferous lignite mines in western India. A fossil wood, retrieved from this mine, is systematically described and shows a strong resemblance to the modern genus Chisocheton of the family Meliaceae. Plant fossils are the best source to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment of any region, and here a luxurious, highly diverse tropical evergreen forest is interpreted in and around the fossil locality in contrast to the tropical thorn forest of the present day. This early Eocene highly diverse equatorial forest, once covered a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent, is now restricted in fringes known as Western Ghats in south India attesting to changes in climate.     

Early Eocene macroflora and associated palynofossils from the Cambay Shale Formation,western India: Phytogeographic and palaeoclimatic implications

A diverse assemblage of plant macrofossils and the associated representative palynofloral elements are documented from the early Eocene subsurface beds of the Cambay Shale Formation exposed in an open cast lignite mine at Vastan Village in the Surat District, western India. The Vastan mine succession is cyclic, each cycle representing a transgressive burial event terminating in the low energy lagoonal conditions. The higher energy cycle begins with sandy lenses having rich biotic remains, followed by mudstones and molluscan shell beds and ends with lignite seams. The dominantly muddy facies and the associated biota demonstrate predominantly low energy near shore or coastal plain depositional setting with conditions varying from dominantly marine (shallow) through brackish to fresh water. The Vastan mine is a well dated fossil locality with a rich and diverse biota of mammals, birds, snakes, lizards, fish, insects, molluscs, foraminifers, dinoflagellates, and plants. The plants comprise leaf and fruit impressions, seeds, fruits, wood fragments, mangrove rooting structures, fungal thalli and spores, pteridophytic spores, and angiosperm pollen grains. Thirteen macrofossil species, including several morphotaxa, are represented by the families Calophyllaceae, Rutaceae, Anacardiaceae, Rubiaceae, Combretaceae, Lythraceae, Sapindaceae, Malvaceae, and Ebenaceae. The palynological assemblage representing fourteen taxa includes the new species, Notothyrites undulatus, Callimothallus semicircularis, and Carallioipollenites integerrimoides. Habitat and distribution of modern taxa comparable with the fossil assemblage from Vastan suggest a terrestrial lowland environment. The macrofossil taxa are indicative of mesophytic, mixed forest growing under tropical to subtropical climate with sufficient humidity. The occurrence of dipterocarp elements along with taxa such as Swintonia, Pterospermum and Diospyros, etc. seems to suggest the presence of a tropical rain forest in the vicinity of Vastan.     

辽宁抚顺始新统黑三棱属一新种

本文描述了辽宁抚顺始新统黑三棱属的一个种——抚顺黑三棱Sparganium fushunense,化石标本仅保存果枝部分。根据新标本头状聚花果显示的形态与结构特征,对该属的现生种和化石种做了详细的比较。     

A new genus and species of an early Eocene primate from North Africa

A new Adapiform Primate from the locality of Chambi (Tunisia) is described and assigned toDjebelemur martinezi gen.nov., sp. nov. Holotype CBI 33, fragment of left mandible with P/3-M/3. Other material includes a lower and two upper isolated molars and one probable lower canine. This new material is assigned to the Adapidae.     

A new species of Sparganium from the Eocene of Fushun,Liaoning Province

Sparganium fushunense Geng is described as new from the Jijuntun Formation (Middle to Late Eocene) of Fushun region in Liaoning Province, China. The preserved fertile branches bear fruiting heads. A morphological comparison of the fruit heads is made between the specimens studied here with those of the living species and other fossil species. The results show that the new species is distinguishable mainly by the shape of the tepals and the size of the fruits. Sparganium fushunense Geng, sp. nov. Head-bearing axis at least 14.5 cm long, about 1.0 mm wide, with longitudinal striae more or less parallel on its surface. Axes with 4～6 lateral fruit heads, interval between heads 0.5～2.0 cm. Fruiting head sessile, globose, about 5 mm in diameter, made up of tightly packed tepals and fruits radiating from a small receptacle. Tepals narrowly obovate, apically rounded, about 1.8 mm long, 0.2～0.7 mm wide. Fruits elliptic, sessile, with smooth surface, 1.16～1.25 mm long, at apex with a beak 1.5～2.0 mm long. Seed elliptic, long axis 0.48～0.75 mm long, short axis 0.23～0.45 mm long. Seed coat cells irregularly polygonal , 4.1～19 vn in diameter, with smaller ones in both the apical and basalparts,the larger ones in the middle part and a papillate process at the apex.     

Biogeography of Eocene bryozoans from the St Vincent Basin, South Australia

The first extensive and stratigraphically detailed taxonomic study of the Middle to Late Eocene Bryozoa of the St Vincent Basin has identified more than 200 species of Cheilostomata and 50 species of Cyclostomata. There are three biogeographic groups: basin endemic, Australian and global. Two-thirds (116) of the cheilostome species and seven genera are currently considered endemic to this basin. Most species are endemic to Australia and similar to those found in the Oligo-Miocene of Victoria. The Cellariidae are a common component of most Australian Cainozoic deposits, but the species are highly dissimilar, with 13 of the 17 species here being new. The global component indicates that biogeographic links with regions outside Australia still existed in the Eocene. The cyclostome genus Reticrescis is only known from the Australian and Antarctic Eocene. Ten genera have their first occurrence in the Eocene St Vincent Basin. The Phidoloporidae and Smittinidae represent the most diverse and ubiquitous groups at a geological time close to their time of origination. Contemporaneous sediments in Antarctica, eastern Europe and North America also have a diverse fauna of this family, pointing to a strong Tethyan link. Rhamphosmittina lateralis (MacGillivray) is still extant in New Zealand, having an exceptionally long time range of 40 million years. Overall, the fauna has a distinct Late Cretaceous character. A new genus of Onychocellidae appears similar to genera that were common in Cretaceous Tethyan faunas but rare during the Cainozoic. This similarity ends in the Oligocene, after which the Australian bryozoan became endemic     

New early Eocene anaptomorphine primate (Omomyidae) from the Washakie Basin,Wyoming, with comments on the phylogeny and paleobiology of anaptomorphines

Recent paleontological collecting in the Washakie Basin, southcentral Wyoming, has resulted in the recovery of over 100 specimens of omomyid primates from the lower Eocene Wasatch Formation. Much of what is known about anaptomorphine omomyids is based upon work in the Bighorn and Wind River Basins of Wyoming. This new sample documents greater taxonomic diversity of omomyids during the early Eocene and contributes to our understanding of the phylogeny and adaptations of some of these earliest North American primates. A new middle Wasatchian (Lysitean) anaptomorphine, Anemorhysis savagei, n. sp., is structurally intermediate between Teilhardina americana and other species of Anemorhysis and may be a sister group of other Anemorhysis and Trogolemur. Body size estimates for Anemorhysis, Tetonoides, Trogolemur, and Teilhardina americana indicate that these animals were extremely small, probably less than 50 grams. Analysis of relative shearing potential of lower molars of these taxa indicates that some were primarily insectivorous, some primarily frugivorous, and some may have been more mixed feeders. Anaptomorphines did not develop the extremes of molar specialization for frugivory or insectivory seen in extant prosimians. Incisor enlargement does not appear to be associated with specialization in either fruits or insects but may have been an adaptation for specialized grooming or food manipulation. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

First mammal of Gondwanan lineage in the early Eocene of India

Based on well-preserved lower dentition, a new adapisoriculid from the Cambay Shale Formation (basal Eocene, ～54.5 Ma) in the open cast lignite mine of Vastan, Gujarat State, western India, is described. Indolestes kalamensis gen. et sp. nov adds significantly to the diversity of basal eutherians from Vastan as it represents a family hitherto not known from the Eocene of the Indian Subcontinent. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Indolestes is derived relative to Deccanolestes and Afrodon, but primitive relative to the European adapisoriculids Bustylus and Adapisoriculus. The new data from the early Eocene provide evidence for continued survival of a Gondwanan mammal lineage following the Deccan volcanic activity (Cretaceous–Paleogene transition) in the Indian Subcontinent.     

Eocene siliceous sponges from the Ebro Basin (Catalonia, Spain)

The Eocene (Bartonian) marls of the La Guixa Member and Gurb Member, Vic Marls Formation (Ebro Basin, Catalonia, Spain), contain a very rich and diversified siliceous sponge fauna. The fauna is dominated by hexactinellids; lithistids and other demosponges are rare. It consists of 16 species representing 16 genera. Eleven new species and two new genera are proposed for these sponges: Reguantella cavernosa nov. gen. nov. sp., Regadrella concinna nov. sp. (both Hexactinellida, Lyssacinosa), Eurete clava nov. sp., Pleuroguettardia iberica nov. sp., Aphrocallistes almeriae nov. sp., Hexactinella informis nov. sp. (all Hexactinellida, Hexactinosa), Brachiolites munterensis nov. sp., Centrosia viquensis nov. sp., Callicylix eocenicus nov. sp., Rhizocheton robustus nov. sp. (all Hexactinellida, Lychniscosa), Propetrosia pristina nov. gen. nov. sp. (Demospongia, Haplosclerida). Some genera of sponges in this fauna are still extant, but, in general, the predominant ones are very close in morphology, and, without doubt, closely related to the Late Cretaceous sponges. This fauna also differs considerably, in terms of composition, from most other described faunas of Tertiary sponges from the Mediterranean region, which are dominated by lithistid sponges. Lithistid sponges are rare in this investigated assemblage, which seems most similar to an as yet undescribed Eocene fauna from Italy. There is ecological differentiation in the proportions of particular sponges in various outcrops and/or stratigraphical levels that is clearly associated with water-depth-related controlling factor(s): Munter, Tona and Sta. Cecilia represent the deepest facies, Gurb is intermediate, and St. Roc and Vespella are the most shallow. The exact bathymetric position of the sponge fauna is difficult to estimate, but it seems that 100 m (but probably 200 m and more in the case of the deepest parts) of water depth may be inferred for this facies.     

Diversity starts early: notharctid primates from the Sandcouleean (Early Eocene) of the Powder River Basin,Wyoming, USA

Abstract

Abundant specimens, mostly isolated teeth, of the Primate family Notharctidae occur in the Early Eocene rocks of the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming, USA. Very early in the North American history of the family, the notharctid species diversified and this diversity may have been widespread, and not restricted to more southerly areas in the Rocky Mountains. The diversity is shown by detailed analysis of the molar dentition. Two new genera are established: Megaceralemur with Megaceralemur trigonodus as its type and Megaceralemur matthewi sp. nov. as a Sandcouleean species and Pinolophus, with Pinolophus meikei sp. nov. as its type, for a form with an entoconid notch on lower molar 1. Megaceralemur has a prominent nannopithex-fold which dominates the posterior cingulum of upper molars 1–2 and a cristid obliqua on lower molar 1 which attaches to the metaconid, not the metalophid as it does in Cantius and other genera. A small species, Cantius lohseorum sp. nov., is named for a derived lineage the size of Cantius torresi.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:066DC515-A2DD-40AF-AD8A-3834E2AFD0FB     

Estrellichnus jacaensis from the Eocene Jaca Basin of NE Spain: new locality and new ethological interpretation

New occurrences of Estrellichnus jacaensis in the deep-marine turbidite deposits of the Eocene Hecho Group (Fiscal, Huesca, NE Spain) are described. Most of them include specimens preserved as ‘urban fossils’ located in several villages of the south-central Pyrenees. Well-preserved morphological features of the new specimens studied and their interactions with accompanying ichnotaxa allow reinterpreting the constructional process and functional significance of Estrellichnus and its rejection as a graphoglyptid. The comparison of this ichnogenus with lebensspuren recorded in oceans and seas around the world has allowed finding a plausible current analogue and proposing a likely tracemaker.     

Dammar resin from the Eocene lignite of Bengal Basin,eastern India: Terpenoid composition and botanical origin

The chemical composition of fossil resins from Middle to Late Eocene lignite samples of the western margin of Bengal Basin, India, has been chemically analyzed to infer their botanical affinity. The terpenoid content of the resins has been characterized using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid components show close affinity with those in extant dammer (Dipterocarpaceae) resin (class II) and indicate the common occurrence of dipterocarps in the forest growing under warm tropical climate in the area at that time. Rich palynofloral assemblages dominated by Dipterocarpaceae pollen grains recovered from the lignite samples corroborate the chemical data.     

The long‐term history of dispersal among lizards in the early Eocene: new evidence from a microvertebrate assemblage in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming,USA

Abstract: Early Eocene mammal faunas of North America were transformed by intercontinental dispersal at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary, but lizard faunas from the earliest Eocene of the same area were dominated by immigrants from within the continent. A new lizard assemblage from the middle early Eocene of Wyoming sheds light on the longer‐term history of dispersal in relation to climate change. The assemblage consists of three iguanid species (including two new species possibly closely related to living Anolis), Scincoideus, ‘Palaeoxantusia’, four anguids, two species of an undescribed new anguimorph clade, Provaranosaurus and a varanoid (cf. Saniwa). Most North American glyptosaurin glyptosaurines are now referred to Glyptosaurus, and Glyptosaurus hillsi is given a new diagnosis. Scincoideus is otherwise known only from the mid‐Paleocene of Belgium, and the specimens described here are the first to document intercontinental dispersal to North America among lizards in the early Eocene. Like in mammals, some immigrant lizard lineages first appearing in the Bighorn Basin in the earliest Eocene persisted in the area long after the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum, but other immigrants appear to have been restricted to the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum.     

A new Late Eocene primate from the Krabi Basin (Thailand) and the diversity of Palaeogene anthropoids in southeast Asia

According to the most recent discoveries from the Middle Eocene of Myanmar and China, anthropoid primates originated in Asia rather than in Africa, as was previously considered. But the Asian Palaeogene anthropoid community remains poorly known and inadequately sampled, being represented only from China, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand. Asian Eocene anthropoids can be divided into two distinct groups, the stem group eosimiiforms and the possible crown group amphipithecids, but the phylogenetic relationships between these two groups are not well understood. Therefore, it is critical to understand their evolutionary history and relationships by finding additional fossil taxa. Here, we describe a new small-sized fossil anthropoid primate from the Late Eocene Krabi locality in Thailand, Krabia minuta, which shares several derived characters with the amphipithecids. It displays several unique dental characters, such as extreme bunodonty and reduced trigon surface area, that have never been observed in other Eocene Asian anthropoids. These features indicate that morphological adaptations were more diversified among amphipithecids than was previously expected, and raises the problem of the phylogenetic relations between the crown anthropoids and their stem group eosimiiforms, on one side, and the modern anthropoids, on the other side.     

Description of a new species of Gastornis (Aves,Gastornithiformes) from the early Eocene of La Borie,southwestern France

The early Eocene locality of La Borie is located near the village of Saint-Papoul, in southwestern France. It consists of clay deposits that have yielded numerous vertebrate fossils, including remains of the giant flightless bird Gastornis. These remains were initially attributed to the species G. parisiensis, which is otherwise recorded from the late Paleocene and earliest Eocene of the North Sea Basin. New fossil birds collected in the La Borie clay pit in 2018 include an almost complete mandible of Gastornis. We describe a new species of Gastornis based on this mandible and we show that the previously described remains from La Borie must be assigned to this new species. The new species differs from other species of Gastornis in the morphology of the mandible, maxilla and quadrate. The morphological diversity of the genus Gastornis, which existed in Europe for at least 17 million years, is emphasized.LSID of publication: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:10E7938B-C972-4127-94DC-169D35977B11.