Early Eocene fossils suggest that the mammalian order Perissodactyla originated in India

Rose, Kenneth D.; Holbrook, Luke; Rana, R. S.; Kumar, Kishor; Jones, Katrina E.; Ahrens, Heather E.; Missiaen, Pieter; Sahni, Ashok; Smith, Thierry

doi:10.1038/ncomms6570

Cited by 80 publications

(74 citation statements)

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“…Among the mammals the Laurasiatheres which include the Artiodactyls, perissodactyls, bats, carnivores and pangolins (O'Leary et al, 2013) were already present in Eurasia in the early Neogene. In fact, perissodactyls were present on the Indian plate as early as Eocene prior to its collision with Asia (Bajpai et al, 2006;Rose et al, 2014). On the other hand the Afrotheres that includes the proboscideans, hyrocoids, and embrithopods were confined to Africa till the latest Oligocene.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neogene Climate, Terrestrial Mammals and Flora of the Indian Subcontinent

Patnaik

Prasad²

2016

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy

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The present review compiles the work done in and around India during 2011-2015 on the terrestrial climate, fauna and vegetation changes during the Neogene. Tectonics that led to the final closure of Tethys, uplift of the Tibetan plateau, land connection between Africa and Eurasia played a major role in the climatic variability and paleobiogeographic history of fauna and flora of the Indian subcontinent. Though the timing of initiation of monsoon is still a debatable issue, establishment of seasonal reversal in wind direction pattern during summer and winter period and development of monsoonal climate in larger parts of the Indian subcontionent is characteristic of Neogene. Fossil records of flora and fauna provide evidence of warm and humid climate of early Neogene, which then shifted to cooler and drier conditions during the late Neogene. This shift in the climatic conditions resulted in a major vegetation change in the Indian subcontinent with Early and Middle Miocene being dominated by C 3 vegetation, and warm and humid tropical flora in low land areas while Late Miocene and Pliocene saw the dominance of C 4 grasslands. Influenced by this major vegetation and ecological shift around Late Miocene, several browsing mammals of the Early and Middle Miocene landscape gave way to mostly grazing mammals of the Late Miocene and Pliocene time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neogene Climate, Terrestrial Mammals and Flora of the Indian Subcontinent

Patnaik

Prasad²

2016

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy

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“…The solution has also great implications for life evolution since the presence of animals in India prior to the Himalayan-Tibetan collision (Palaeogene) does not necessarily mean they originate from the sub-continent (e.g. [52]). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Indian Promontory: A Bridge between Plate Tectonics and Life Evolution Models

Vérard¹,

Stampfli²,

Borel³

et al. 2017

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“…When India collided with Laurasia, these modern descendants of Gondwanan origin spilled into Asia and populated the mammalian fauna in keeping with the "out of India" hypothesis (Murphy et al, 2001a;Solé and Smith, 2013;Rose et al, 2014). Until the true origin of the European type mammals dug up in India is resolved, and the timing between phylogenetic divergences in relation to geological events (Aitchison et al, 2007) are substantiated, all contending hypotheses are on hold (Bajpai, 2009;O'Leary et al, 2013;Tarver et al, 2016).…”

Section: The "Out Of India" Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, phylogenetic reconstructions based on molecular genetics and taking into account the first appearance of placental fossils in Laurasia 125 Mya, suggest that the oldest stem eutherian placental mammals originated earlier from Gondwana rather than Laurasia (Woodburne and Springer, 2003;Rose and Archibald, 2005). Secondly, fossils with European (Laurasian) kinship and representing the precursors of modern perissodactyls, primates and rodents were found in north-western India mixed with typical Gondwanan fauna, from a period (54 Mya) that predated the collision of India with Asia (Rose et al, 2014). This has given rise to suggestions of occasional Laurasian land connections (chains of island stepping-stones) to India as the island plate traversed the ocean towards northern Asia (Masters et al, 2006;Ali et al, 2008), particularly during ocean low levels in the Oligocene (Schlanger and Silva, 1986;Miller et al, 2008).…”

Section: The "Out Of India" Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

The biogeography and ecology of Sri Lankan mammals point to conservation priorities

Dittus

2017

Ceylon J. Sci.

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All mammals originated on the supercontinent of Pangaea in the Mesozoic era during the "Age of Reptiles." However, the crown ancestors of contemporary mammals did not flourish until major environmental and biotic changes had occurred. An asteroid collided with earth at the end of the Cretaceous Period (the K-Pg boundary event) wiping out nonflying dinosaurs and primitive mammals. It was followed by large-scale volcanism, a spike in atmospheric oxygen and the proliferation of flowering plants. New niches became available for the ancestors of today's mammals to fill. Evidence suggesting whether the ancestors of the Sri Lankan and Indian mammals originated on the tectonically marooned Indian plate before crashing into Asia or on the Laurasian supercontinent is inconclusive. Modern Sri Lankan mammals show their greatest affinity with those of southern India, and were more diverse in the Pleistocene when rhinoceros, hippopotamus, wild dogs, gaur and lions enriched the island's landscapes. Native Sri Lankan land-based mammals are diversified into about 108 unique taxa (among 91 species and 53 genera), differentiated as phenotypic adaptations to sharply contrasting environments among seven major phyto-climatic zones. Endemic subspecies are distributed fairly equally across different phyto-climatic zones (n=24 to 29), except in the highlands where they are fewer (n=14) having evolved rapidly to species and genera among the insectivores and rodents whose reproductive rates are high. Conversely, greater numbers of endemic species (n=13) and genera (n=3) occur in the highlands than in the other zones (2-6 endemic species, no endemic genera). The prevalence of endemism is inversely related to body size or vagility. This suggests a greater probability of genetic exchange among distant populations of large bodied mobile mammals within Sri Lanka, as well as with Indian fauna during periods of land bridges in the Pleistocene. Most (8 of 13) endangered and critically endangered endemic mammals occur in the wet montane regions that offer the least Protected Areas (PAs). More than 85% of PAs occur in the extensive dry zone about half of which is not suited for water dependent mammals whose distributions are restricted to alluvial forests (less than 1% of PAs). Historically, the national cost of conservation has been low and therefore politically palatable. Current conservation urgently requires a major change in management policy combined with realistic investment to prevent extinctions of many endemic mammals and other unique Sri Lankan biota.

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Early Eocene fossils suggest that the mammalian order Perissodactyla originated in India

Cited by 80 publications

References 35 publications

Neogene Climate, Terrestrial Mammals and Flora of the Indian Subcontinent

Neogene Climate, Terrestrial Mammals and Flora of the Indian Subcontinent

The Indian Promontory: A Bridge between Plate Tectonics and Life Evolution Models

The biogeography and ecology of Sri Lankan mammals point to conservation priorities

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