Stidham Thomas, Patnaik Rajeev, Krishan Kewal, Singh Bahadur, Ghosh Abhik, Singla Ankita, Kotla Simran S
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Department of Geology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.
PLoS One. 2017 May 24;12(5):e0177129. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177129. eCollection 2017.
New fossils from the latest Pliocene portion of the Tatrot Formation exposed in the Siwalik Hills of northern India represent the first fossil record of a darter (Anhingidae) from India. The darter fossils possibly represent a new species, but the limited information on the fossil record of this group restricts their taxonomic allocation. The Pliocene darter has a deep pit on the distal face of metatarsal trochlea IV not reported in other anhingids, it has an open groove for the m. flexor perforatus et perforans digiti II tendon on the hypotarsus unlike New World anhingid taxa, and these darter specimens are the youngest of the handful of Neogene records of the group from Asia. These fossil specimens begin to fill in a significant geographic and temporal gap in the fossil record of this group that is largely known from other continents and other time periods. The presence of a darter and pelican (along with crabs, fish, turtles, and crocodilians) in the same fossil-bearing horizon strongly indicates the past presence of a substantial water body (large pond, lake, or river) in the interior of northern India in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.
在印度北部西瓦利克山脉暴露的塔特罗特组最新上新世部分的新化石，代表了来自印度的蛇鹈（蛇鹈科）的首个化石记录。这些蛇鹈化石可能代表一个新物种，但关于该类群化石记录的信息有限，限制了它们的分类归属。上新世蛇鹈在第IV跖骨滑车远端有一个深坑，这在其他蛇鹈中未被报道；与新大陆蛇鹈类群不同，它在跗下部有一个用于趾深屈肌和趾长屈肌腱的开放凹槽；并且这些蛇鹈标本是该类群来自亚洲的少数新近纪记录中最年轻的。这些化石标本开始填补该类群化石记录中一个显著的地理和时间空白，该类群在很大程度上是从其他大陆和其他时期为人所知的。在同一含化石层位中存在蛇鹈和鹈鹕（以及螃蟹、鱼类、海龟和鳄鱼），强烈表明过去在喜马拉雅山脉山麓的印度北部内陆存在一个大型水体（大池塘、湖泊或河流）。
