Early Eocene fossils suggest that the mammalian order Perissodactyla originated in India.
Abstract: Cambaytheres (Cambaytherium, Nakusia and Kalitherium) are recently discovered early Eocene placental mammals from the Indo-Pakistan region. They have been assigned to either Perissodactyla (the clade including horses, tapirs and rhinos, which is a member of the superorder Laurasiatheria) or Anthracobunidae, an obscure family that has been variously considered artiodactyls or perissodactyls, but most recently placed at the base of Proboscidea or of Tethytheria (Proboscidea+Sirenia, superorder Afrotheria). Here we report new dental, cranial and postcranial fossils of Cambaytherium, from the Cambay Shale Formation, Gujarat, India (~54.5 Myr). These fossils demonstrate that cambaytheres occupy a pivotal position as the sister taxon of Perissodactyla, thereby providing insight on the phylogenetic and biogeographic origin of Perissodactyla. The presence of the sister group of perissodactyls in western India near or before the time of collision suggests that Perissodactyla may have originated on the Indian Plate during its final drift toward Asia.
Publication Date: 2014-11-20 PubMed ID: 25410701DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6570Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Research Support
- U.S. Gov't
- Non-P.H.S.
Summary
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The research study presents evidence to propose that Perissodactyla, a mammalian order that includes horses, tapirs and rhinos, originally evolved in India. It is based on the analysis of early Eocene fossils of Cambaytherium species found in the Indo-Pakistan region.
Focus of the Research
- The primary focus of the research was to understand the origin and evolutionary journey of the Perissodactyla order. The researchers attempted to do this by analyzing newly discovered early Eocene fossils of three species collectively called Cambaytheres, namely Cambaytherium, Nakusia and Kalitherium.
- The research specifically deals with defining the phylogenetic and biogeographic origin of the Perissodactyla order based on dental, cranial and postcranial fossils of Cambaytherium found in the Cambay Shale Formation in Gujarat, India, dating back to approximately 54.5 million years ago.
Key Findings
- The research reveals that the Cambaytheres maintain a critical position as the sister group of Perissodactyla, reinforcing their role in understanding the lineage and geographical origins of the order.
- The presence of the closest related group of Perissodactyla in western India around the same time as the Indian and Asian plates collided suggests that the evolution of Perissodactyla possibly started on the Indian Plate as it drifted towards Asia.
Implications of the Research
- This research significantly contributes to the scientific understanding of the origin and early evolution of the Perissodactyla order.
- It opens new avenues for future research focused on unraveling the mysteries of mammalian evolution, particularly in the context of geological occurrences such as plate tectonics.
- Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of the Indo-Pakistan region, particularly western India, in the evolutionary journey of this particular mammalian order.
Cite This Article
APA
Rose KD, Holbrook LT, Rana RS, Kumar K, Jones KE, Ahrens HE, Missiaen P, Sahni A, Smith T.
(2014).
Early Eocene fossils suggest that the mammalian order Perissodactyla originated in India.
Nat Commun, 5, 5570.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6570 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Center for Functional Anatomy &Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 E. Monument Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey 08028, USA.
- Department of Geology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar 246175, Uttarakhand, India.
- Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India.
- Center for Functional Anatomy &Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 E. Monument Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
- Center for Functional Anatomy &Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 E. Monument Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
- Research Unit Palaeontology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
- Department of Geology, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India.
- Operational Directorate Earth &History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Biological Evolution
- Fossils
- India
- Paleontology
- Perissodactyla
- Phylogeny
- Skull
Citations
This article has been cited 12 times.- Vincelette A. The Characteristics, Distribution, Function, and Origin of Alternative Lateral Horse Gaits.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 8;13(16).
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- Matsui K, Tsuihiji T. The phylogeny of desmostylians revisited: proposal of new clades based on robust phylogenetic hypotheses.. PeerJ 2019;7:e7430.
- Pérez SD, Grummer JA, Fernandes-Santos RC, José CT, Medici EP, Marcili A. Phylogenetics, patterns of genetic variation and population dynamics of Trypanosoma terrestris support both coevolution and ecological host-fitting as processes driving trypanosome evolution.. Parasit Vectors 2019 Oct 11;12(1):473.
- Lorente M. What are the most accurate categories for mammal tarsus arrangement? A review with attention to South American Notoungulata and Litopterna.. J Anat 2019 Dec;235(6):1024-1035.
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- Matsui K, Kimura Y, Nagata M, Inose H, Ikeda K, Beatty BL, Obayashi H, Hirata T, Otoh S, Shinmura T, Agematsu S, Sashida K. A long-forgotten 'dinosaur' bone from a museum cabinet, uncovered to be a Japan's iconic extinct mammal, Paleoparadoxia (Desmostylia, Mammalia).. R Soc Open Sci 2018 Jul;5(7):172441.
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