Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics: New Perspectives on Post-Gondwana Break-up–A Tribute to Ashok Sahni (Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology)

This book recognizes and celebrates the contributions of Professor Ashok Sahni to the field of paleontology. Prof. Sahni established a School of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, where he trained many of today’s vertebrate paleontologists of India. The book covers topics on evolutionary patterns, macroevolutionary events, origination and radiation events, changes in physical environments & climate and their implications for biodiversity dynamics, intercontinental affinities and biogeographic connections in a plate tectonic framework. The book begins by exploring India in the age of the dinosaurs, discussing new fossil remains from the Jurassic Era, then moves through the Cretaceous and Eocene to provide a picture on faunal and floral changes in Gondwanaland in the context of plate tectonics. Furthermore, the book explores the evolutionary patterns and biotic dispersals that resulted from the northward drift of Indian plate during the Cretaceous and its collision with Asia in the Eocene. The respective chapters reveal the role of plate tectonics and climate in shaping the geographical distribution of plants and animals in Gondwana, specifically in India, as well as the post-India/Asia collision implications for biodiversity changes and biogeography in the region’s continental environments. Given its scope, the book will appeal to vertebrate paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, and paleobiogeographers. Front Matter ....Pages i-xlvii First Ornithischian and Theropod Dinosaur Teeth from the Middle Jurassic Kota Formation of India: Paleobiogeographic Relationships (Guntupalli V. R. Prasad, Varun Parmar)....Pages 1-30 Upper Gondwana (Jurassic to Early Cretaceous) Palynoflora of India: Its Correlation with Other Gondwana Continents and Phytogeographical Implications (Shreya Mishra, Vandana Prasad)....Pages 31-66 A Third, Remarkably Small, Tribosphenic Mammal from the Mesozoic of Australia (Thomas H. Rich, Peter Trusler, Lesley Kool, David Pickering*, Alistair Evans, Karen Siu et al.)....Pages 67-75 Evidence for a Remarkably Large Toothed-Monotreme from the Early Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, NSW, Australia (Thomas H. Rich, Timothy F. Flannery, Patricia Vickers-Rich)....Pages 77-81 Role of Plate Tectonics and Global Climate Change in the Evolution of Angiosperms (Vandana Prasad, Shreya Mishra, Ashish K. Mishra, Mahi Bansal)....Pages 83-98 Anuran Lissamphibian and Squamate Reptiles from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Deccan Intertrappean Sites in Central India, with a Review of Lissamphibian and Squamate Diversity in the Northward Drifting Indian Plate (Jean-Claude Rage, Guntupalli V. R. Prasad, Omkar Verma, Ashu Khosla, Varun Parmar)....Pages 99-121 Chelonian Pelomedusoides Remains from the Late Cretaceous of Upparhatti (Southwestern India): Systematics and Paleobiogeographical Implications (France de Lapparent de Broin, Guntupalli V. R. Prasad)....Pages 123-180 The Age of Dinosaurs in the Land of Gonds (Sankar Chatterjee)....Pages 181-226 Leaving Gondwana: The Changing Position of the Indian Subcontinent in the Global Faunal Network (Thomas J. D. Halliday, Patricia A. Holroyd, Emmanuel Gheerbrant, Guntupalli V. R. Prasad, Agustín Scanferla, Robin M. D. Beck et al.)....Pages 227-249 Island Africa and Vertebrate Evolution: A Review of Data and Working Hypotheses (Jean-Claude Rage*, Emmanuel Gheerbrant)....Pages 251-264 Contrasting Biomarker Signatures of Cretaceous and Early Paleogene Coal-Bearing Sediments During the Northward Flight of India (Swagata Paul, Suryendu Dutta)....Pages 265-278 New Specimens of Frugivastodon (Mammalia: Apatotheria) from the Early Eocene of India Confirm Its Apatemyid Status and Elucidate Dispersal of Apatemyidae (Floréal Solé, Eric De Bast, Hélène Legendre, Rajendra S. Rana, Kishor Kumar, Kenneth D. Rose et al.)....Pages 279-304 Size Variation Amongst the Non-volant Mammals from the Early Eocene Cambay Shale Deposits of Western India: Paleobiogeographic implications (Vivesh V. Kapur)....Pages 305-335 Indohyus, Endemic Radiation of Raoellid Artiodactyls in the Eocene of India and Pakistan (J. G. M. Thewissen, A. C. Nanda, Sunil Bajpai)....Pages 337-346 The Murine Cradle (Lawrence J. Flynn, Yuri Kimura, Louis L. Jacobs)....Pages 347-362 New Data on the Siwalik Murines, Rhizomyines and Ctenodactylines (Rodentia) from the Indian Subcontinent (Rajeev Patnaik)....Pages 363-391 Dispersal of Miocene Hominoids (and Pliopithecoids) from Africa to Eurasia in Light of Changing Tectonics and Climate (Christopher C. Gilbert, Kelsey D. Pugh, John G. Fleagle)....Pages 393-412 Back Matter ....Pages 413-432