来自印度西部的始新世早期兔形目动物（哺乳纲）与兔形目的早期分化
Early Eocene lagomorph (Mammalia) from Western India and the early diversification of Lagomorpha.
作者信息
Rose Kenneth D, DeLeon Valerie Burke, Missiaen Pieter, Rana R S, Sahni Ashok, Singh Lachham, Smith Thierry
机构信息
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
出版信息
Proc Biol Sci. 2008 May 22;275(1639):1203-8. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2007.1661.
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.
我们报道了兔形目已知最古老的记录，其依据是来自印度中西部古吉拉特邦始新世早期沉积物（相当于中伊普雷斯阶，约5300万年前）中独特的小型踝骨（跟骨和距骨）。这些化石比此前已知最古老的冠兔形目动物早数百万年，并将兔形目在印度次大陆的记录延长了3500万年。这些骨头展现出了在纤弱的兔科（兔子和野兔）中发现的一系列特化的快速奔跑适应性特征，以及现存鼠兔科（鼠兔）的原始特征和更为粗壮的兔科动物的特征。与这里报道的中国上黄中始新世的纤细和粗壮跟骨一起，这些印度化石表明，冠兔形目内部的多样化以及兔科可能的分化在始新世早期就已经开始了。
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