The boyhood of Birbal Sahni: taking to science in 19th Century Panjab

The rise of a scientist to eminence is better understood when viewed in the backdrop of events unfolding during that time and this is especially true of Birbal Sahni and his father, Ruchi Ram, who was one of the first science educationists of Panjab. Schooling and education in nineteenth century Panjab was quite different from what it is today. Liberal school education as known now, did not exist. In its place were traditional educational systems that had remained unchanged for several centuries: elitist schools catered only to the ruling class to help them learn the graces and manners of their times, and the ability to manage their land holdings. For the priestly class, there were special schools to teach the scriptures. For merchants, who held sway over the economy, all that was needed to get by was the use of simple arithmetic. For the common man it was difficult to get a good education. Here, I have tried to give the reader some background of the life and times of late nineteenth century Panjab and what it was like for an ordinary family, lacking in means, to develop a love for science and a rationalistic attitude in an environment where superstition and myth reigned supreme

Fossil seeds from the Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous), Jabalpur, India

Fossil seeds are reported here from the classic Bara Simla Hill section of the Lameta Formation at Jabalpur. They are associated with a freshwater ostracod, charophyte and dinosaur assemblage that suggests a Maastrichtian age. The Lameta beds locally underlying the Deccan basalts have been shown to be pedogenically modified alluvial plain deposits containing one of the most extensive dinosaur nesting sites in the world. The Lamera seeds are preserved as three dimensional carbonate casts and are distinguishable into three distinct morphotypes

A Maastrichtian Ostracode assemblage (Lameta formation) from Jabalpur Cantonment, Madhya Pradesh

We report the occurrence of a rich assemblage of ostracodes from the classic localities of Lameta Formation (Maastrichtian) at Chui Hill and at Bara Simla Hills, Jabalpur. The assemblage, comprising several thousand specimens, mostly represented by internal moulds, was recovered by using bulk washing and screening techniques

Oldest fossil avian remains from the Indian subcontinental plate

We describe the oldest fossil avian remains of the Indian subcontinental plate, from the early Eocene of the Vastan Lignite Mine in Gujarat, India. Three incomplete coracoids and two scapulae are assigned to the new taxon Vastanavis eocaena, gen. et sp. nov. The coracoids resemble the corresponding bone of bustards (Otididae), but a reliable assignment is not possible without additional bones. Independent of their phylogenetic affinities the fossils are of potential biogeographic significance, because similar species are unknown from the well-studied Palaeogene avifaunas of Europe and North America

A New Adapoid Primate From The Early Eocene Of India

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57497/1/Vol 31 No 14 final 12-19-07.pd

Lower triassic argillaceous sequence of pahlgam (Kashmir Himalaya) and palaeoecological observations

The Lower Triassic argillaceous sequence of Pahlgam ( Kashmir Himalaya) area is described for the first time.This sequence is enriched with disaccate pollen and consists of microplankton ( acritarchs, tasmanitids) in fair distribution. The stratigraphic distribution of these organic-walled micro-fossil groups in the Lowe-Triassic horizons is included and it is concluded that this is environmentally influenced. The occurrence of miospore in combination with microplankton (phytoplankton) and nature of associated mineral matter provide information regarding palaeoenvironmental conditions of the sediments

New early Eocene vertebrate assemblage from western India reveals a mixed fauna of European and Gondwana affinities

AbstractThe Ypresian Cambay Shale Formation at Vastan and Mangrol lignite mines in Gujarat, western India, has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna with numerous taxa of European affinities. Here we report a new, approximately contemporary vertebrate assemblage from two fossiliferous layers in the nearby mine of Tadkeshwar. These layers have yielded a similar mammal fauna with the co-occurrence of the perissodactyl-like cambaytheriid Cambaytherium thewissi, the adapoid primates Marcgodinotius indicus and cf. Asiadapis cambayensis, and the hyaenodontid Indohyaenodon raoi. The presence of these species in both Vastan and Tadkeshwar mines and at different levels suggests that the deposits between the two major lignite seams represent a single land mammal age. Apart from the aforementioned species there is a new, smaller species of Cambaytherium, and a new genus and species of esthonychid tillodont. This fauna also contains the first large early Eocene vertebrates from India, including an unidentified Coryphodon-like pantodont, a dyrosaurid crocodyliform and a new giant madtsoiid snake. Among the Tadkeshwar vertebrates several taxa are of Gondwana affinities, such as Pelomedusoides turtles, dyrosaurids, and large madtsoiids, attesting that the early Eocene was a crucial period in India during which Laurasian taxa of European affinities co-existed with relict taxa from Gondwana before the India-Asia collision. Our results suggest that terrestrial faunas could have dispersed to or from Europe during episodes of contact between the Indian subcontinent and different island blocks along the northern margin of the Neotethys, such as the Kohistan–Ladakh island-arc system. Gondwana taxa might represent remnants of ghost lineages shared with Madagascar, which reached the Indian subcontinent during the late Cretaceous; alternatively they might have come from North Africa and passed along the southern margin of the Neotethys to reach the Indian subcontinent. These dispersals would have been possible as a result of favourable paleogeographic conditions such as the particular Neotethys conformation during the beginning of the early Eocene

Ornithoid eggshells from Deccan intertrappean beds near Anjar (Kachchh), Western India

We describe here the ornithoid eggshell fragments from the Deccan intertrappesn beds (Late Cretaceous) near Anjar, district Kachchh, Gujarat. The find assumes palaeobiogeographic significance as morphologically similar eggshells are known from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Taxonomic affinities (dinosaurian/avian) of these eggshells cannot be established at present

Were there size constraints on biotic exchanges during the Northward drift of the Indian plate?

Contrary to the geophysical data, which envisaged a long period (about 100 Ma) of physical isolation for the Indian subcontinent during its northward journey, the palaeontological data from the Upper Cretaceous continental sequences (Deccan infra- and inter-trappean) of peninsular India unequivocally demonstrate the nonendemic nature of the biota with close biogeographics links to the southern as well as northen hemisphere continents. The Myobatrachinae frogs, pelomedusid turtles, titanosaurid and abelisaurid dinosaurs, and Sudamericidae mammals exhibit distinct Gondwanan relationships. In marked contrast, the pelobatid and discoglossid frogs, anguid lizards, alligatorid crocodiles, palaeoryctid mammals, ostracodes, and charophytes indicate Laurasian connection. The Gondwanan taxa have been considered as representing an immigration event before 80 Ma (time of separation of Madagascar from India) and possibly between 85-90 Ma that facilitated the exchange of fauna between South America and Indo-Madagascar via Antarctica and Kerguelen Plateau. As far as the Laurasian connection is concerned, it has been shown that the size of organisms had a significant control on the biotic exchanges between the Indian subcontinent and the Laurasian landmasses. Only small-sized taxa could participate in the northern biotic interchanges through filter corridor/sweepstake mode of dispersal involving the Trans-Himalayan Arc, Kohistan-Dras island arc copmlex and some oceanic islands which have been destroyed in due course of time at the subduction zone south of the Asian mainland/Trans-Himalayan Arc