S20 – 431: Break up of Gondwana and Vertebrate evolution

A Jurassic australosphenidan mammal from India: Implications for mammalian evolution and
distribution in former Gondwanaland
1 2 2
Guntupalli V.R.Prasad , Varun Parmar , Deepak Kumar
1
Department of Geology, Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Delhi, India , Department of Geology,
2
University of Jammu, India

Background: Continental Jurassic sequences have a restricted occurrence world over with most of the
known Jurassic mammals reported from the northern, Laurasian continents. Though in recent years
intensive field investigations by different research groups in the southern, Gondwanan continents have
improved the Jurassic fossil record of these areas, yet a clear picture regarding the evolution of Mesozoic
mammals in these continents has not emerged. However, latest discoveries from the Middle Jurassic of
Madagascar and middle Late Jurassic of South America have demonstrated that the former
Gondwanaland was inhabited by tribosphenic mammals as old as or older than those of Laurasian
landmasses. This led to a debate on the centre of origin for tribosphenic mammals with majority favouring
Laurasia, while a few based on the new finds from the Jurassic of Gondwanaland considered the latter as
a possible place of origin for tribosphenic mammals. Alternatively, it has been suggested that two
independent lineages of tribosphenic mammals, viz., Boreosphenida and Australosphenida, had evolved
in Laurasia and Gondwanaland, respectively. In India, continental Jurassic strata are well exposed in the
Pranhita Godavari valley where they are formally known by the Kota Formation. This formation is a
sandstone, clay, mudstone and siltstone sequence intercalated with limestone horizons and is considered
as Early/Middle Jurassic in age. In light of discoveries made in the past from this formation, it is expected
that a more diversified assemblage of mammals might be discovered from here. Hence, a thorough
palaeontological investigation of Kota Formation outcrops was carried out which brought to light a new
tribosphenic mammal from the Jurassic of India.

Objectives: To report a new tribosphenic mammal represented by a lower molar recovered from the
Lower/Middle Jurassic Kota Formation of Pranhita Godavari valley, peninsular India.

Methods: Bulk samples of the grey siltstone associated with the limestone bands of Jurassic Kota
Formation exposed near Paikasigudem village in Adilabad district, Telangana were collected and
disintegrated using kerosene oil-water immersion method. The samples were screen-washed using
different sets of sieves in running water. The residue obtained was dried, sieved and sorted under a
binocular microscope that resulted in the discovery of the tooth described here. Scanning Electron
Micrographs of the tooth were taken with Zeiss EVOMA10 model SEM.

Results: Following bulk screen washing of grey siltstone horizon intercalated with the limestone of Kota
Formation, an isolated lower molar characterized by the presence of a trigonid and a talonid basin has
been recovered. The trigonid of this tooth bears three cusps, the protoconid, the paraconid and the
metaconid, arranged in an obtuse-angled triangle. The protoconid is the voluminous cusp of the trigonid,
the paraconid and the metaconid are subequal in size. The paraconid is procumbent and slightly labial in
position with respect to the metaconid. The trigonid is open lingually. The tooth has a well developed
shelf-like, crenulated lingual cingulid that terminates at the mesiolingual base of the paraconid. The
talonid is wider than long, not as wide as the trigonid and is closed lingually. The talonid though partly
chipped in the region of hypocristid, it has a heavily worn hypoconid and partly broken hypoconulid. A
protuberance in the posterolingual border of the talonid seems to represent the entoconid. The hypoflexid
is shallow and the cristid obliqua is not preserved.

In possessing an obtuse-angled and lingually open trigonid, a lingual cingulid, low, wider than long
talonid, the new specimen compares well with the australosphenidans reported from the Jurassic of
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Gondwanan continents. It differs from pretribosphenic holotherians such as Peramus, Holoclemensia and
Pappotherium, in the presence of a broad, fully basined talonid, lingually open trigonid, lingual cingulid
and absence of distal metacristid. At present Australosphenida lineage includes Ambondro mahabo Flynn
et al. 1999 from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar, Asfaltomylos patagonicus Rauhut et al. 2002, and
Henosferus molus Rougier et al. 2007 from the middle Late Jurassic of South America, and
Ausktribosphenos Rich et al. 1997 and Bishops Rich et al. 2001 from the Early Cretaceous of Australia.
The closest allies for the Indian specimen among the known australosphenidans are Ambondro,
Asfaltomylos and Henosferus. The new Indian tooth differs from the Australian taxa in the absence of
additional cristids on the metaconid and talonid. In the absence of distal metacristid and lingual cingulid
mesial to the paraconid, and relatively narrow talonid, the Indian specimen differs from Ambondro. In
these characters, it is closely comparable with lower molar teeth of Asfaltomylos and Henosferus. But the
former has a weakly developed lingual cingulid as compared to its strong development in the Indian tooth.
In Henosferus, the talonid is slightly wider than the trigonid and the lingual cingulid terminates just mesial
to the mesial edge of the metaconid.

Conclusion: The new tooth is the first representative of Australosphenida, the southern group of
Mesozoic mammals, from India and is the oldest tribosphenic mammal from the Indian subcontinent. The
dental morphology of the present tooth though resembles that of australosphenidans in general and thus
justifies its referral to this group, there are subtle differences at generic level with known
australosphenidan taxa which warrant erection of a new taxon. However, this is deferred until more
detailed analysis of the polarity of dental characters of the new tooth is performed. Among the different
australosphenidan taxa reported from Gondwanan continents, the tooth most closely resembles the
South American A. patagonicus. The new specimen together with A. mahabo from Madagascar, A.
patagonicus and H. molus from South America represents basal radiation of the Australosphenida lineage
in the southern continents. It also indicates that australosphenidan mammals had pan Gondwanan
distribution and furture disoveries may reveal its presence in Africa and Antarctica as well. The discovery
of australosphenidan mammal from the Kota Formation also demonstrates that the scarcity of fossils from
the Jurassic of India is an artifact of sampling bias rather than preservational bias.

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