Bajpai, S.

Thewissen, J. G. M.

English

Publications of the IAS Fellows

SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE 
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 82, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 200 507
 
provide habitat for rare animal species. 
The significance of such investigations 
to determine diversity indices in host–
parasite infrapopulation interdependence 
and commercial output assessment would, 
therefore, provide long-term benefits to 
the fish industry in the country. The 
present analysis has the potential to 
explain the hazardous role of human 
activity in dispersal of parasitic species. 
The factual occurrence of adult worms of 
Rostellascaris pp. in water bodies at 
different geographic locations provided 
further evidence of the completion of its 
life cycle within the aquatic body itself. 
Such parasitic organisms confirmed to 
the description of ‘autogenic’6 parasites 
which completed their life cycles exclu-
sively in aquatic hosts and were confined 
to the aquatic ecosystem, constraining 
dispersal. As a result ‘a logenic’ species 
capable of using vagile hosts like birds 
and mammals were considered to be 
most widely dispersed, showing broader 
geographic distributions than autogenic 
parasites16. 
 The present investigation is in striking 
contrast in Rostellascaris being clearly 
one of the most broadly distributed para-
site genera in Indian fishes. This indicates 
possibility of inter-habitat transmission 
of this nematode genus to distant geo-
graphic locations by human activity,  
and not by any natural process, because 
although the Mandavi riverine system 
existed besides marine ecosystems at 
Goa, no inter-habitat transfer of R stella-
scaris was observed either due to salinity 
gradient, host’s behavioral response or 
ue to a broader host specificity. Earlier 
t o such a word of caution has been 
stressed17 with regard to the power of 
human intervention to alter natural eco-
logical processes. 
 
 
1. Moller, H., Int. J. Parasitol., 1987, 17, 
345. 
2. Knudsen, R., Klemetsen, A. and Stald-
vik, F., J. Fish Biol., 1996, 48, 1256–
1258. 
3. Prejs, K., Ekol. Pol., 1977, 25, 21–24. 
4. Zullini, A., Nematol. Medit., 1976, 4,  
13–15. 
5. Sindermann, C. J., NAFO Sci. Coun. Stud., 
1983, 6, 63–71. 
6. MacKenzie, K., Int. J. Parasitol., 1987, 
17, 345–352. 
7. Malhotra, Sandeep K. and Anas, M., 
Prof. V. N. Capoor Commemoration Vol., 
Ankit Publ., 2001, pp. 46–50. 
8. Geetanjali, Malhotra Sandeep K., Ansari, 
Z. and Malhotra, A., Environment and its 
Challenges (ed. Kumar, A.), Soc. Env. 
Sci., 2002 (in press). 
9. Malhotra, Sandeep K., Environment and 
Applied Biology (ed. Agarwal, V. P.)., 
Soc. Biosci., 1994, pp. 153–161. 
10. Bongers, T. and Ferris, H., TREE, 1999, 
14, 224–227. 
11. Millward, R. N. and Grant, N., Mar. 
Pollut. Bull., 1995, 30, 701–703. 
12. Lafferty, K. D. and Morris, A. K., 
Ecology, 1996, 77, 1390. 
13. Biserkov, V. and Kostadinova, A., J. 
Helminthol., 1998, 72, 267–271. 
14. Madhavi, R. and SaiRam, B. K., ibid
2000, 74, 337–342. 
15. Aho, J. M., in Parasitic Communities: 
Patterns and Processes ( ds Esch, G. W., 
Bush, A. O. and Aho, J. M.), Chapman 
and Hall, London, 1990, pp. 157–190. 
16. Esch, G. W., Kennedy, C. R., Bush, A. O. 
and Aho, J. M., Parasitology, 1988, 96, 
519–523. 
17. Font, W. F., J. Helminthol., 1998, 72, 
307–309. 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. S.K.M. thanks 
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 
New Delhi for funding a major research 
project. 
 
Received 16 July 2001; accepted 27 Dec-
ember 2001 
 
GEETANJALI † 
SANDEEP K. MALHOTRA†,‡ 
ANSHU MALHOTRA† 
ZAKIR ANSARI* 
ANIL CHATTERJI* 
 
 
†Parasitology Laboratory, 
Department of Zoology, 
University of Allahabad, 
Allahabad 211 002, India 
*Division of Aquaculture, 
National Institute of Oceanography, 
Dona Paula, 
Goa 403 004, India 
‡For correspondence 
 
 
 
 
Vertebrate fauna from Panandhro lignite field (Lower Eocene),  
District Kachchh, western India 
In contrast to the Middle Eocene verte-
brates, our knowledge of Lower Eocene 
vertebrate fossils from India is extremely 
poor. This hampers biogeographic evalu-
ation in a geodynamic context, parti-
cularly in regard to the mammalian 
evidence. The few known occurrences of 
pre-Middle Eocene vertebrates include 
those from the Subathu Formation of 
Himalaya1–3, from sediments asociated 
with the Palana lignite in Bikaner4 d, 
more recently, an otolith fauna from a 
lignite field near Surat5. During our recent 
fieldwork in Kachchh, we succeeded in 
locating a rich occurrence of fossil verte-
brates in the well-known open cast 
lignite mines at Panandhro. The ossi-
ferous outcrops are located in an oper-
tional mine (HD Mine) in the Panandhro 
lignite field and consist of grey silty 
shales occurring near the top of the 
lignitic sequence (Figure 1). These back-
swamp deposits form part of the Naredi 
Formation, dated as Early Eocene, mainly 
on the basis of benthic foraminifers6. The 
sequence is capped by red lateritic clays. 
 The recovered fauna comprises fishes, 
turtles, snakes, crocodiles and mammals, 
and a checklist with tentative identifica-
tions is given in Table 1. Fishes include a 
fragmentary skull of catfish, and hu d-
reds of isolated teeth, spines and verte-
brae belonging to sharks and rays. The 
skull, though smaller in size, appears to 
be conspecific with Arius kutchensis, 
already known from the Eocene of 
Kachchh7. The most common fish fossils 
 the isolated teeth and spines of 
Myliobatis. Both lateral and median teeth 
are present in the collection and are cha-
racterized by smooth hexagonal coronal 
surface and longitudinal grooves on the 
basal surface of the root. Associated with 
rays are a large number of shark teeth. 
Galeocerdo, characterized by a large  
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CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 82, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2002 508
 
 
Figure 2. Vertebrates from Panandhro lignite mine. a, (× 4); b, (× 3); c, (× 3); d, (× 3.5); 
e, (× 4); h, (× 1.5) Myliobatis sp. isolated teeth and spine (RUSB 301–305, 306); f, (× 3) 
Galeocerdo isolated tooth (RUSB 307); g, (× 3) Selachii indet. isolated tooth (RUSB 308); 
i, (× 4.5) Isurus sp. isolated tooth (RUSB 309); j, (×3); k, (× 3); l, (× 3); q, (× 0.75) 
Crocodylidae indet. isolated teeth and vertebra (RUSB 310–313); m, (× 5); n, (× 3.5) Serpentes 
indet. vertebrae (RUSB 314, 315); o, (× 2); p, (× 3); r, (× 3); s, (× 2) Kutchicetus minimus?
isolated mammal teeth (RUSB 2579, 2589, 2578, 2590); t, (× 0.75) Arius kutchensis fragmentary 
skull (RUSB 316). 
 
principal cusp and serrations on both 
anterior and posterior margins, is the 
most common shark. 
 Reptilian remains include approxi-
mately 50 well-preserved procoelous ver-
tebrae of snakes, representing both caudal 
and trunk regions. Their affinities have 
yet to be worked out, but it is important 
to note that they represent the oldest 
record of fossil snakes from the Indian 
Tertiary. The crocodilian material, referred 
to as Crocodylidae, consists of approxi-
mately 30 isolated teeth and several 
vertebrae. Turtles, represented by a large 
number of carapace fragments, are tenta-
tively referred to as the Trionychidae. 
Recovered specimens include costals 
bearing spines. 
 Although meagre, the most important 
component of the Panandhro collection is 
the fragmentary teeth of mammals. Of 
the six specimens, the most diagnostic is 
a left P1/(RUSB 2590, Figure 2 s). The 
tooth is long (18.9 mm) and narrow 
(5.9 mm), and has a single, strongly cur-
ved root. The apex of the tooth is broken, 
but it was triangular in labial view, with 
a complete cingulum, and strong anterior 
and posterior crests. This specimen 
matches in size and shape the maxilla of 
the type specimen of the recently d s-
cribed diminutive whale Kutchicetus mini-
mus from the Middle Eocene of Kachchh8, 
and is not similar to any of the other 
whales known from Kachchh. A left 
upper canine (RUSB 2579, Figure 2 o) 
has a circular cross-section, lingual cin-
gulum and crenulated enamel lingually. 
At its base, it appears to match the crown 
of the isolated canine of Kutchicetus. It 
is important to note that the presence of 
 
 
Figure 1. Lithostratigraphic section at the 
HD mine, Panandhro lignite field, District 
Kachchh. Vertebrate-bearing level is marked 
by X. 
 
Table 1. Faunal list based on tentative identifications 
  
  
Pisces Arius, Myliobatis p., Galeocerdo sp., Galeorhinus sp., Isurus 
Serpentes Indet. 
Crocodilia Crocodylidae indet. 
Chelonia Trionychidae indet. 
Mammalia Cetacea (Kutchicetus minimus?) 
  
  
 
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CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 82, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2002 509
 
Kutchicetus in the backswamp deposits 
of Kachchh is consistent with the avai-
lable data on its vertebral column, which 
indicates that this animal represents a 
primitive pattern of locomotion in the 
evolutionary transition of whales from 
land to sea8. The swimming mode of 
Kutchicetus probably resembled that of 
otters and the animal clearly lacked loco-
motor adaptations for deep-sea environ-
ments. 
 Summing up, the present discovery of 
a diverse Lower Eocene vertebrate fauna 
marks the success of a long-c tinued 
search in Kachchh. Recently, from a 
broadly coeval (Ypresian) coal mine near 
Quetta in Pakistan, a land mammal has 
been described9. The fact that the Kachchh 
fauna includes a few cetacean teeth is 
particularly significant, as it indicates 
that the origin and early evolution of 
whales (and possibly also sirenians and 
proboscideans) are documented in the 
Eocene Tethyan realm of the Indian sub-
continent. However, the existing collec-
tions need to be enlarged both taxonomi-
cally and anatomically in order to make 
any meaningful evaluation of this fauna. 
Because these important outcrops are 
located inside the mine and may be 
destroyed by ongoing mining activities, 
int nsive prospecting for vertebrates 
needs to be undertaken on a regular 
basis. 
 
1. Sahni, A. and Kumar, K., J . Palaeontol. 
Soc. India, 1981, 23, 132–135. 
2. Kumar, K. and Loyal, R. S., ibid, 1987, 
32, 60–84. 
3. Bajpai, S. and Gingerich, P. D., Proc. 
Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1998, 95, 15464–
15468. 
4. Paliwal, B. S., Curr. Sci., 1999, 76, 1536–
1538. 
5. Samant, B. and Bajpai, S., ibid, 2001, 81, 
758–759. 
6. Biswas, S. K., J . Palaeontol. Soc. India, 
1992, 37, 1–29. 
7. Sahni, A. and Mishra, V. P., Monogr. 
Palaeontol. Soc. India, 1975, 3, 1–48. 
8. Bajpai, S. and Thewissen, J. G. M., Curr.
Sci., 2000, 79, 1478–1482. 
9. Gingerich, P. D., Abbas, S. G. and Arif, 
M., J . Vertebr. Paleontol., 1997, 17, 629–
637. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We extend our 
sincere thanks to Prof. Ashok Sahni for his 
constant encouragement. Financial support 
provided by the Department of Science and 
Technology, New Delhi and the National 
Geographic Society, Washington DC is thank-
fully acknowledged. 
 
 
Received 21 July 2001; revised accepted 27 
December 2001 
 
 
 
 
SUNIL BAJPAI †,* 
J. G. M. THEWISSEN‡ 
 
 
†Department of Earth Sciences,  
Indian Institute of Technology,  
Roorkee 247 667, India 
‡Department of Anatomy,  
Northeastern Ohio Universities College  
 of Medicine,  
Rootstown, OH 44272, USA
*For correspondence  
e-mail: sunilfes@iitr.ernet.in 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Vertebrate fauna from Panandhro lignite field (Lower Eocene),

District Kachchh, western India

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Vertebrate fauna from Panandhro lignite field (Lower Eocene), District Kachchh, western India

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