India

@article{chatterjee1978indosuchus1,
    author = "Chatterjee, S",
    title = "Indosuchus and Indosaurus, Cretaceous carnosaurs from India",
    year = "1978",
    journal = "Journal of Paleontology, v. 52, p. 570-580",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Chatterjee, S., 1978, Indosuchus and Indosaurus, Cretaceous carnosaurs from India: Journal of Paleontology, v. 52, p. 570-580.}"
}

@misc{chatterjee1984the2,
    author = "Chatterjee, S",
    title = "The drift of India",
    year = "1984",
    howpublished = "A conflict in plate tectonics: Memoirs of the Geological Society of France, v. 147, p. 43-48",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Chatterjee, S., 1984, The drift of India: A conflict in plate tectonics: Memoirs of the Geological Society of France, v. 147, p. 43-48.}"
}

@misc{chatterjee1987a3,
    author = "Chatterjee, S",
    title = "A new theropod dinosaur from India with remarks on the Gondwana- Laurasia connection in the Late Triassic",
    year = "1987",
    howpublished = "Geophysical Monograph Six, 183- 189",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Chatterjee, S., 1987, A new theropod dinosaur from India with remarks on the Gondwana- Laurasia connection in the Late Triassic. Geophysical Monograph Six, 183- 189.}"
}

A major question in Mesozoic biogeography is how the land-based dinosaurian radiation responded to fragmentation of Pangaea. A rich fossil record has been uncovered on northern continents that spans the Cretaceous, when continental isolation reached its peak. In contrast, dinosaur remains on southern continents are scarce. The discovery of dinosaurian skeletons from Lower Cretaceous beds in the southern Sahara shows that several lineages of tetanuran theropods and broad-toothed sauropods had a cosmopolitan distribution across Pangaea before the onset of continental fragmentation. The distinct dinosaurian faunas of Africa, South America, and Asiamerica arose during the Cretaceous by differential survival of once widespread lineages on land masses that were becoming increasingly isolated from one another.

@article{doi101126science2665183267,
    author = "Sereno, Paul C. and Wilson, Jeffrey A. and Larsson, Hans C. E. and Dutheil, Didier B. and Sues, Hans‐Dieter",
    title = "Early Cretaceous Dinosaurs from the Sahara",
    year = "1994",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "A major question in Mesozoic biogeography is how the land-based dinosaurian radiation responded to fragmentation of Pangaea. A rich fossil record has been uncovered on northern continents that spans the Cretaceous, when continental isolation reached its peak. In contrast, dinosaur remains on southern continents are scarce. The discovery of dinosaurian skeletons from Lower Cretaceous beds in the southern Sahara shows that several lineages of tetanuran theropods and broad-toothed sauropods had a cosmopolitan distribution across Pangaea before the onset of continental fragmentation. The distinct dinosaurian faunas of Africa, South America, and Asiamerica arose during the Cretaceous by differential survival of once widespread lineages on land masses that were becoming increasingly isolated from one another.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.266.5183.267",
    doi = "10.1126/science.266.5183.267",
    openalex = "W2034114512",
    references = "doi101017s0022336000026706, doi101038361064a0, doi101086627723, doi101126science13334591105, doi101139e72031, doi101139e93179, doi1023071796560, doi105281zenodo1040385, doi105860choice331556, openalexw2603028126, openalexw2989049194"
}

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.

@article{doi101126science2725264986,
    author = "Sereno, Paul C. and Dutheil, Didier B. and Iarochène, Mohamed and Larsson, Hans C. E. and Lyon, Gabrielle H. and Magwene, Paul M. and Sidor, Christian A. and Varricchio, David J. and Wilson, Jeffrey A.",
    title = "Predatory Dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous Faunal Differentiation",
    year = "1996",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.272.5264.986",
    doi = "10.1126/science.272.5264.986",
    openalex = "W2013182835",
    references = "coria1995a, doi101007bf02987808, doi101016s0016699509900389, doi101038377224a0, doi101126science2665183267, doi102113gssgfbulliv2335, doi1023072421859, doi105281zenodo1040385, doi105962p226819, openalexw1426920053, openalexw2603028126"
}

@article{crossref1998predatory,
    title = "Predatory dinosaur remains from Madagascar: Implications for the cretaceous biogeography of Gondwana",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Journal of African Earth Sciences",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0899-5362(98)90642-x",
    doi = "10.1016/s0899-5362(98)90642-x",
    number = "3-4",
    openalex = "W4233710777",
    pages = "XIII",
    volume = "27"
}

Recent discoveries of fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar include several specimens of a large theropod dinosaur. One specimen includes a nearly complete and exquisitely preserved skull with thickened pneumatic nasals, a median frontal horn, and a dorsal projection on the parietals. The new materials are assigned to the enigmatic theropod group Abelisauridae on the basis of a number of unique features. Fossil remains attributable to abelisaurids are restricted to three Gondwanan landmasses: South America, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent. This distribution is consistent with a revised paleogeographic reconstruction that posits prolonged links between these landmasses (via Antarctica), perhaps until late in the Late Cretaceous.

@article{doi101126science28053661048,
    author = "Sampson, Scott D. and Witmer, Lawrence M. and Forster, Catherine A. and Krause, David W. and O’Connor, Patrick M. and Dodson, Peter and Ravoavy, Florent",
    title = "Predatory Dinosaur Remains from Madagascar: Implications for the Cretaceous Biogeography of Gondwana",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Recent discoveries of fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar include several specimens of a large theropod dinosaur. One specimen includes a nearly complete and exquisitely preserved skull with thickened pneumatic nasals, a median frontal horn, and a dorsal projection on the parietals. The new materials are assigned to the enigmatic theropod group Abelisauridae on the basis of a number of unique features. Fossil remains attributable to abelisaurids are restricted to three Gondwanan landmasses: South America, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent. This distribution is consistent with a revised paleogeographic reconstruction that posits prolonged links between these landmasses (via Antarctica), perhaps until late in the Late Cretaceous.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5366.1048",
    doi = "10.1126/science.280.5366.1048",
    openalex = "W2026696841",
    references = "doi101016003101829190145h, doi101017s0022336000026706, doi10103837343, doi101038377301a0, doi101126science2665183267, doi101126science2725264986, doi101126science27953581915, doi101139e93176, doi101146annurevearth251435, doi105962p226819, openalexw648313615, sereno1997the"
}

The concept of ‘Gondwana’, an ancient Southern Hemisphere supercontinent, is firmly established in geological and biogeographical models of Earth history. The term Gondwana (Gondwanaland of some authors) derives from the recognition by workers at the Indian Geological Survey in the mid- to late 19th century of a distinctive sedimentary sequence preserved in east central India. This succession, now known to range in age from Permian to Cretaceous, is lithologically and palaeontologically similar to coeval non-marine sedimentary successions developed in most of the Southern Hemisphere continents suggesting former continuity of these landmasses. Palaeomagnetic data and tectonic reconstructions suggest that the main assembly of Gondwana took place around the beginning of the Palaeozoic in near-equatorial latitudes and that the supercontinent as a whole shifted into high southern latitudes, allowing widespread glaciation by the end of the Carboniferous. From Carboniferous to Cretaceous times the southern continents had broadly similar floras but some species-level provincialism is apparent at all times. The break-up of Gondwana initiated during the Jurassic (at about 180 million years ago) and this process is continuing. The earliest rifting (crustal attenuation) within the supercontinent initiated in the west (between South America and Africa) and in general terms the rifting pattern propagated eastward with major phases of continental fragmentation in the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous to Paleogene. Gondwanan floras show radical turnovers near the end of the Carboniferous, end of the Permian and the end of the Triassic that appear to be unrelated to isolation or fragmentation of the supercontinent. Throughout the late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic the high-latitude southern floras maintained a distinctly different composition to the palaeoequatorial and boreal regions even though they remained in physical connection with Laurasia for much of this time. Gondwanan floras of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (times immediately preceding and during break-up) were dominated by araucarian and podocarp conifers and a range of enigmatic seed-fern groups. Angiosperms became established in the region as early as the Aptian (before the final break-up events) and steadily diversified during the Cretaceous, apparently at the expense of many seed-fern groups. Hypotheses invoking vicariance or long distance dispersal to account for the biogeographic patterns evident in the floras of Southern Hemisphere continents all rely on a firm understanding of the timing and sequence of Gondwanan continental breakup. This paper aims to summarise the current understanding of the geochronological framework of Gondwanan breakup against which these biogeographic models may be tested. Most phytogeographic studies deal with the extant, angiosperm-dominated floras of these landmasses. This paper also presents an overview of pre-Cenozoic, gymnosperm-dominated, floristic provincialism in Gondwana. It documents the broad succession of pre-angiosperm floras, highlights the distinctive elements of the Early Cretaceous Gondwanan floras immediately preceding the appearance of angiosperms and suggests that latitudinal controls strongly influenced the composition of Gondwanan floras through time even in the absence of marine barriers between Gondwana and the northern continents.

@article{doi101071bt00023,
    author = "McLoughlin, Stephen",
    title = "The breakup history of Gondwana and its impact on pre-Cenozoic floristic provincialism",
    year = "2001",
    journal = "Australian Journal of Botany",
    abstract = "The concept of ‘Gondwana’, an ancient Southern Hemisphere supercontinent, is firmly established in geological and biogeographical models of Earth history. The term Gondwana (Gondwanaland of some authors) derives from the recognition by workers at the Indian Geological Survey in the mid- to late 19th century of a distinctive sedimentary sequence preserved in east central India. This succession, now known to range in age from Permian to Cretaceous, is lithologically and palaeontologically similar to coeval non-marine sedimentary successions developed in most of the Southern Hemisphere continents suggesting former continuity of these landmasses. Palaeomagnetic data and tectonic reconstructions suggest that the main assembly of Gondwana took place around the beginning of the Palaeozoic in near-equatorial latitudes and that the supercontinent as a whole shifted into high southern latitudes, allowing widespread glaciation by the end of the Carboniferous. From Carboniferous to Cretaceous times the southern continents had broadly similar floras but some species-level provincialism is apparent at all times. The break-up of Gondwana initiated during the Jurassic (at about 180 million years ago) and this process is continuing. The earliest rifting (crustal attenuation) within the supercontinent initiated in the west (between South America and Africa) and in general terms the rifting pattern propagated eastward with major phases of continental fragmentation in the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous to Paleogene. Gondwanan floras show radical turnovers near the end of the Carboniferous, end of the Permian and the end of the Triassic that appear to be unrelated to isolation or fragmentation of the supercontinent. Throughout the late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic the high-latitude southern floras maintained a distinctly different composition to the palaeoequatorial and boreal regions even though they remained in physical connection with Laurasia for much of this time. Gondwanan floras of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (times immediately preceding and during break-up) were dominated by araucarian and podocarp conifers and a range of enigmatic seed-fern groups. Angiosperms became established in the region as early as the Aptian (before the final break-up events) and steadily diversified during the Cretaceous, apparently at the expense of many seed-fern groups. Hypotheses invoking vicariance or long distance dispersal to account for the biogeographic patterns evident in the floras of Southern Hemisphere continents all rely on a firm understanding of the timing and sequence of Gondwanan continental breakup. This paper aims to summarise the current understanding of the geochronological framework of Gondwanan breakup against which these biogeographic models may be tested. Most phytogeographic studies deal with the extant, angiosperm-dominated floras of these landmasses. This paper also presents an overview of pre-Cenozoic, gymnosperm-dominated, floristic provincialism in Gondwana. It documents the broad succession of pre-angiosperm floras, highlights the distinctive elements of the Early Cretaceous Gondwanan floras immediately preceding the appearance of angiosperms and suggests that latitudinal controls strongly influenced the composition of Gondwanan floras through time even in the absence of marine barriers between Gondwana and the northern continents.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1071/bt00023",
    doi = "10.1071/bt00023",
    openalex = "W1860957168",
    references = "crossref1974the, doi101007bf02860537, doi1010160012821x89900186, doi1010160031018284900373, doi1010160034666776900531, doi1010160034666782900410, doi101017s0016756800008268, doi10102993pa03266, doi101029gm032, doi101038230042a0, doi101038333547a0, doi10108003115517708527763, doi101080037362451938105591187, doi101111j150239311987tb02026x, doi10113000167606198798475lpgeig20co2, doi1011300091761319950230407scirpo23co2, doi101130spe195p1, doi101144gslmem19900120101, doi102973dsdpproc291171975, doi105962bhltitle118957, openalexw1549706842, openalexw2135985426"
}

Abelisauroid predators have been recorded almost exclusively from South America, India and Madagascar, a distribution thought to document persistent land connections exclusive of Africa. Here, we report fossils from three stratigraphic levels in the Cretaceous of Niger that provide definitive evidence that abelisauroid dinosaurs and their immediate antecedents were also present on Africa. The fossils include an immediate abelisauroid antecedent of Early Cretaceous age (ca. 130-110 Myr ago), early members of the two abelisauroid subgroups (Noasauridae, Abelisauridae) of Mid-Cretaceous age (ca. 110 Myr ago) and a hornless abelisaurid skull of early Late Cretaceous age (ca. 95 Myr ago). Together, these fossils fill in the early history of the abelisauroid radiation and provide key evidence for continued faunal exchange among Gondwanan landmasses until the end of the Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 Myr ago).

@article{doi101098rspb20042692,
    author = "Sereno, Paul C. and Wilson, Jeffrey A. and Conrad, Jack L.",
    title = "New dinosaurs link southern landmasses in the Mid–Cretaceous",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences",
    abstract = "Abelisauroid predators have been recorded almost exclusively from South America, India and Madagascar, a distribution thought to document persistent land connections exclusive of Africa. Here, we report fossils from three stratigraphic levels in the Cretaceous of Niger that provide definitive evidence that abelisauroid dinosaurs and their immediate antecedents were also present on Africa. The fossils include an immediate abelisauroid antecedent of Early Cretaceous age (ca. 130-110 Myr ago), early members of the two abelisauroid subgroups (Noasauridae, Abelisauridae) of Mid-Cretaceous age (ca. 110 Myr ago) and a hornless abelisaurid skull of early Late Cretaceous age (ca. 95 Myr ago). Together, these fossils fill in the early history of the abelisauroid radiation and provide key evidence for continued faunal exchange among Gondwanan landmasses until the end of the Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 Myr ago).",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2692",
    doi = "10.1098/rspb.2004.2692",
    openalex = "W2165747516",
    references = "doi1010160025322777900457, doi10103835016061, doi101126science2725264986, doi101126science28053661048, doi101126science28253921298, doi1016710272463420020220460ancroc20co2, doi1016710272463420020220510toomka20co2, doi105860choice331556, doi105962p226819, openalexw3114518543, openalexw3214948090"
}

The Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation of central India has yielded dissociated elements of a variety of predatory dinosaurs, most of them coming from a quarry named the "Carnosaur bed." The materials were described by Huene and Matley nearly 70 years ago. They recognized nine theropod species, which they sorted out into the theropod subgroups "Carnosauria" and "Coelurosauria". Huene and Matley also described a considerable amount of theropod hindlimb bones (e.g., femora, tibiae, metatarsals, and pedal phalanges) that they could not refer to any of these species, but vaguely interpreted as corresponding to "allosaurid" or "coelurosaurid" theropods. We reviewed the available collection of Cretaceous theropods from Bara Simla housed at the Geological Survey of India, Calcutta, arriving to the following conclusions: 1) Indosuchus and Indosaurus are abelisaurids, as recognized by previous authors, but available information is not enough to judge whether they are synonyms; 2) Laevisuchus indicus is a small abelisauroid, related to Noasaurus and Masiakasaurus on the basis of their peculiar cervical vertebrae; 3) the controversial taxa " Compsosuchus ", " Dryptosauroides ", " Ornithomimoides ", and " Jubbulpuria " are represented by isolated vertebrae corresponding to different portions of the neck and tail, and also exhibit abelisauroid features; 4) hindlimb bones originally referred to as "allosaurid" and "coelurosaurian" also exhibit abelisauroid characters, and bones of large size are tentatively referred to as corresponding to Indosuchus or Indosaurus, whereas some pedal bones of smaller size may belong to Laevisuchus; 5) two kinds of abelisaurid feet are apparent: one in which the phalanges of digit III and IV are robust, and another type in which the phalanges of digit IV are transversely narrow and dorsoventrally deep. This review demonstrates that all of the theropod elements discovered at the "Carnosaur bed" belong to a single theropod clade, the Abelisauroidea

@article{doi1022179revmacn674,
    author = "Novas, Fernando E. and Agnolín, Federico L. and Bandyopadhyay, Saswati",
    title = "Cretaceous theropods from India: A review of specimens described by Huene and Matley (1933)",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales",
    abstract = {The Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation of central India has yielded dissociated elements of a variety of predatory dinosaurs, most of them coming from a quarry named the "Carnosaur bed." The materials were described by Huene and Matley nearly 70 years ago. They recognized nine theropod species, which they sorted out into the theropod subgroups "Carnosauria" and "Coelurosauria". Huene and Matley also described a considerable amount of theropod hindlimb bones (e.g., femora, tibiae, metatarsals, and pedal phalanges) that they could not refer to any of these species, but vaguely interpreted as corresponding to "allosaurid" or "coelurosaurid" theropods. We reviewed the available collection of Cretaceous theropods from Bara Simla housed at the Geological Survey of India, Calcutta, arriving to the following conclusions: 1) Indosuchus and Indosaurus are abelisaurids, as recognized by previous authors, but available information is not enough to judge whether they are synonyms; 2) Laevisuchus indicus is a small abelisauroid, related to Noasaurus and Masiakasaurus on the basis of their peculiar cervical vertebrae; 3) the controversial taxa " Compsosuchus ", " Dryptosauroides ", " Ornithomimoides ", and " Jubbulpuria " are represented by isolated vertebrae corresponding to different portions of the neck and tail, and also exhibit abelisauroid features; 4) hindlimb bones originally referred to as "allosaurid" and "coelurosaurian" also exhibit abelisauroid characters, and bones of large size are tentatively referred to as corresponding to Indosuchus or Indosaurus, whereas some pedal bones of smaller size may belong to Laevisuchus; 5) two kinds of abelisaurid feet are apparent: one in which the phalanges of digit III and IV are robust, and another type in which the phalanges of digit IV are transversely narrow and dorsoventrally deep. This review demonstrates that all of the theropod elements discovered at the "Carnosaur bed" belong to a single theropod clade, the Abelisauroidea},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.22179/revmacn.6.74",
    doi = "10.22179/revmacn.6.74",
    openalex = "W2527681493",
    references = "crossref1998predatory"
}

A large and diverse collection of vertebrate remains from the Campanian-Maastrichtian Allen Formation (Malargüe Group) at the Bajo deSanta Rosalocality (Río Negro Province,Argentina) is described here. The vertebrates are represented by: chondrichthyans; diplomystid siluriform, lepisosteid, cf. percichthyid and dipnoid osteichthyans; pipid and leptodactylid anurans; chelid turthes; sphenodonts; elasmosaurid plesiosaurs; madtsoiid snakes; faveoolitid and megaloolithid eggshells; and hadrosaurid, cf. carcharodontosaurid and titanosaurid dinosaurs. A new small saltasaurine titanosaurid, Bonatitan reigi gen. et sp. nov., is described. It is diagnosed by the following association of characters: 1) longitudinal groove located on the suture between parietals that continues posteriorly over the supraoccipital to the foramen magnum; 2) basisphenoid tubera long and narrow (more than twice as long as wide); 3) dorsal to middle caudal vertebrae with deep oval to circular pits present on both sides of the prespinal lamina; 4) anterior caudal vertebra with spino-postzygapophysial and spino-prezygapophysial laminae; 5) neural arch of anterior caudals with deep interzygapophysial fossae with numerous pits; 6) anterior caudal vertebra with an accessory sub-horizontal lamina extending from the antero-ventral portion of the postzygapophysis to the mid-portion of the spino-prezygapophysial lamina; and finally, 7) anterior caudal vertebra with a prominent axial crest on the ventral surface of the cemtrum. The first record of sphenodonts and cf. carcharodontosaurid theropods is recognized for the upper Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, as well as the earliest record of percichthyids (Perciformes). The vertebrate record is mainly composed of terrestrial and freshwater taxa, but a few marine elements are found (elasmosaurids) indicating a marine influence during the deposition of the Allen Formation in the area of Bajo deSanta Rosa. The vertebrate remains support a Campanian-Maastrichtian age for the Allen Formation. Comparisons with other South American Campanian-Maastrichtian localities suggest a similar fossil vertebrate composition, with relatively few differences between the Patagonian and extra Patagonian South American records. Key words: Late Cretaceous, osteichthyans, chondrichthyans, anurans, turtles, sphenodonts, plesiosaurs, ophidians, dinosaurs,Patagonia.

@article{doi1022179revmacn688,
    author = "Martinelli, Agustín G. and Forasiepi, Analía M.",
    title = "Late Cretaceous vertebrates from bajo de Santa Rosa (Allen Formation), Río Negro province, Argentina, with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauridae)",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales",
    abstract = "A large and diverse collection of vertebrate remains from the Campanian-Maastrichtian Allen Formation (Malargüe Group) at the Bajo deSanta Rosalocality (Río Negro Province,Argentina) is described here. The vertebrates are represented by: chondrichthyans; diplomystid siluriform, lepisosteid, cf. percichthyid and dipnoid osteichthyans; pipid and leptodactylid anurans; chelid turthes; sphenodonts; elasmosaurid plesiosaurs; madtsoiid snakes; faveoolitid and megaloolithid eggshells; and hadrosaurid, cf. carcharodontosaurid and titanosaurid dinosaurs. A new small saltasaurine titanosaurid, Bonatitan reigi gen. et sp. nov., is described. It is diagnosed by the following association of characters: 1) longitudinal groove located on the suture between parietals that continues posteriorly over the supraoccipital to the foramen magnum; 2) basisphenoid tubera long and narrow (more than twice as long as wide); 3) dorsal to middle caudal vertebrae with deep oval to circular pits present on both sides of the prespinal lamina; 4) anterior caudal vertebra with spino-postzygapophysial and spino-prezygapophysial laminae; 5) neural arch of anterior caudals with deep interzygapophysial fossae with numerous pits; 6) anterior caudal vertebra with an accessory sub-horizontal lamina extending from the antero-ventral portion of the postzygapophysis to the mid-portion of the spino-prezygapophysial lamina; and finally, 7) anterior caudal vertebra with a prominent axial crest on the ventral surface of the cemtrum. The first record of sphenodonts and cf. carcharodontosaurid theropods is recognized for the upper Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, as well as the earliest record of percichthyids (Perciformes). The vertebrate record is mainly composed of terrestrial and freshwater taxa, but a few marine elements are found (elasmosaurids) indicating a marine influence during the deposition of the Allen Formation in the area of Bajo deSanta Rosa. The vertebrate remains support a Campanian-Maastrichtian age for the Allen Formation. Comparisons with other South American Campanian-Maastrichtian localities suggest a similar fossil vertebrate composition, with relatively few differences between the Patagonian and extra Patagonian South American records. Key words: Late Cretaceous, osteichthyans, chondrichthyans, anurans, turtles, sphenodonts, plesiosaurs, ophidians, dinosaurs,Patagonia.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.22179/revmacn.6.88",
    doi = "10.22179/revmacn.6.88",
    openalex = "W2580867742",
    references = "crossref1998predatory, doi101016s089953629890642x, doi101017s0022336000017480, doi101038377224a0, doi10108002724634199410011563, doi101126science2725264986, doi101126science28053661048, doi1023073889325, doi105281zenodo13660782"
}

The observed diversity of dinosaurs reached its highest peak during the mid- and Late Cretaceous, the 50 Myr that preceded their extinction, and yet this explosion of dinosaur diversity may be explained largely by sampling bias. It has long been debated whether dinosaurs were part of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution (KTR), from 125-80 Myr ago, when flowering plants, herbivorous and social insects, squamates, birds and mammals all underwent a rapid expansion. Although an apparent explosion of dinosaur diversity occurred in the mid-Cretaceous, coinciding with the emergence of new groups (e.g. neoceratopsians, ankylosaurid ankylosaurs, hadrosaurids and pachycephalosaurs), results from the first quantitative study of diversification applied to a new supertree of dinosaurs show that this apparent burst in dinosaurian diversity in the last 18 Myr of the Cretaceous is a sampling artefact. Indeed, major diversification shifts occurred largely in the first one-third of the group's history. Despite the appearance of new clades of medium to large herbivores and carnivores later in dinosaur history, these new originations do not correspond to significant diversification shifts. Instead, the overall geometry of the Cretaceous part of the dinosaur tree does not depart from the null hypothesis of an equal rates model of lineage branching. Furthermore, we conclude that dinosaurs did not experience a progressive decline at the end of the Cretaceous, nor was their evolution driven directly by the KTR.

@article{doi101098rspb20080715,
    author = "Lloyd, Graeme T. and Davis, Katie E. and Pisani, Davide and Tarver, James E. and Ruta, Marcello and Sakamoto, Manabu and Hone, David W. E. and Jennings, Rachel and Benton, Michael J.",
    title = "Dinosaurs and the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences",
    abstract = "The observed diversity of dinosaurs reached its highest peak during the mid- and Late Cretaceous, the 50 Myr that preceded their extinction, and yet this explosion of dinosaur diversity may be explained largely by sampling bias. It has long been debated whether dinosaurs were part of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution (KTR), from 125-80 Myr ago, when flowering plants, herbivorous and social insects, squamates, birds and mammals all underwent a rapid expansion. Although an apparent explosion of dinosaur diversity occurred in the mid-Cretaceous, coinciding with the emergence of new groups (e.g. neoceratopsians, ankylosaurid ankylosaurs, hadrosaurids and pachycephalosaurs), results from the first quantitative study of diversification applied to a new supertree of dinosaurs show that this apparent burst in dinosaurian diversity in the last 18 Myr of the Cretaceous is a sampling artefact. Indeed, major diversification shifts occurred largely in the first one-third of the group's history. Despite the appearance of new clades of medium to large herbivores and carnivores later in dinosaur history, these new originations do not correspond to significant diversification shifts. Instead, the overall geometry of the Cretaceous part of the dinosaur tree does not depart from the null hypothesis of an equal rates model of lineage branching. Furthermore, we conclude that dinosaurs did not experience a progressive decline at the end of the Cretaceous, nor was their evolution driven directly by the KTR.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0715",
    doi = "10.1098/rspb.2008.0715",
    openalex = "W2131872692",
    references = "doi101007978140206754912413, doi101017cbo9780511536045, doi101038274661a0, doi101038nature05634, doi101046j14610248200100230x, doi101073pnas0606028103, doi101073pnas111144698, doi101093bioinformatics124357, doi101111j109600311999tb00277x, doi101126science1118806, doi101126science1144066, doi101159000452856, doi1015159780691224244, doi101525california97805202420980010001, doi101525california97805202462320010001, openalexw2989049194, openalexw3217097258, sloan1986gradual, smith2007marine"
}

Sauropod dinosaur bones are common in Mesozoic terrestrial sediments, but sauropod skulls are exceedingly rare--cranial materials are known for less than one third of sauropod genera and even fewer are known from complete skulls. Here we describe the first complete sauropod skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas, Abydosaurus mcintoshi, n. gen., n. sp., known from 104.46 +/- 0.95 Ma (megannum) sediments from Dinosaur National Monument, USA. Abydosaurus shares close ancestry with Brachiosaurus, which appeared in the fossil record ca. 45 million years earlier and had substantially broader teeth. A survey of tooth shape in sauropodomorphs demonstrates that sauropods evolved broad crowns during the Early Jurassic but did not evolve narrow crowns until the Late Jurassic, when they occupied their greatest range of crown breadths. During the Cretaceous, brachiosaurids and other lineages independently underwent a marked diminution in tooth breadth, and before the latest Cretaceous broad-crowned sauropods were extinct on all continental landmasses. Differential survival and diversification of narrow-crowned sauropods in the Late Cretaceous appears to be a directed trend that was not correlated with changes in plant diversity or abundance, but may signal a shift towards elevated tooth replacement rates and high-wear dentition. Sauropods lacked many of the complex herbivorous adaptations present within contemporaneous ornithischian herbivores, such as beaks, cheeks, kinesis, and heterodonty. The spartan design of sauropod skulls may be related to their remarkably small size--sauropod skulls account for only 1/200th of total body volume compared to 1/30th body volume in ornithopod dinosaurs.

@article{doi101007s0011401006506,
    author = "Chure, Daniel J. and Britt, Brooks B. and Whitlock, John A. and Wilson, Jeffrey A.",
    title = "First complete sauropod dinosaur skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas and the evolution of sauropod dentition",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Die Naturwissenschaften",
    abstract = "Sauropod dinosaur bones are common in Mesozoic terrestrial sediments, but sauropod skulls are exceedingly rare--cranial materials are known for less than one third of sauropod genera and even fewer are known from complete skulls. Here we describe the first complete sauropod skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas, Abydosaurus mcintoshi, n. gen., n. sp., known from 104.46 +/- 0.95 Ma (megannum) sediments from Dinosaur National Monument, USA. Abydosaurus shares close ancestry with Brachiosaurus, which appeared in the fossil record ca. 45 million years earlier and had substantially broader teeth. A survey of tooth shape in sauropodomorphs demonstrates that sauropods evolved broad crowns during the Early Jurassic but did not evolve narrow crowns until the Late Jurassic, when they occupied their greatest range of crown breadths. During the Cretaceous, brachiosaurids and other lineages independently underwent a marked diminution in tooth breadth, and before the latest Cretaceous broad-crowned sauropods were extinct on all continental landmasses. Differential survival and diversification of narrow-crowned sauropods in the Late Cretaceous appears to be a directed trend that was not correlated with changes in plant diversity or abundance, but may signal a shift towards elevated tooth replacement rates and high-wear dentition. Sauropods lacked many of the complex herbivorous adaptations present within contemporaneous ornithischian herbivores, such as beaks, cheeks, kinesis, and heterodonty. The spartan design of sauropod skulls may be related to their remarkably small size--sauropod skulls account for only 1/200th of total body volume compared to 1/30th body volume in ornithopod dinosaurs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-010-0650-6",
    doi = "10.1007/s00114-010-0650-6",
    openalex = "W1989949799",
    references = "doi101073pnas932514623, doi101371journalpone0001230, doi101371journalpone0006924, doi101525california97805202420980030015, doi105860choice435907"
}

Abstract Gondwana Basins of India occur within the suture zones of Precambrian cratonic blocks of Peninsular India along some linear belts. More than 99% of the total coal resource of the country is present within these basins. The basins are demarcated by boundary faults having graben or half-graben geometry. These basins preserve a thick sedimentary pile deposited over nearly 200 million years from latest Carboniferous to Lower Cretaceous. However, due to lack of well-constrained data, age of most of the formations is assigned tentatively. This has resulted in diversified views on both intra- and inter-basinal stratigraphic correlation particularly in case of Upper Gondwana formations. It is well recognised that there are distinct spatial and temporal similarities in lithological, faunal and floral distribution in different Gondwana Basins of southern continents, including India, that were once part of supercontinent Gondwanaland. To address the problems of Indian Gondwana stratigraphy, during the present study, some unique events, also recognised in other parts of Gondwanaland, like marine flooding surfaces, large scale tectonic events or major change in depositional environment have been used as a tool for temporal correlation within the Gondwana Basins of India. Many of these events have been dated from different basins elsewhere. Considering these major events as time planes the total time span of deposition in Gondwana Basins has been classified into seven time slots. Recognition of these time planes helps in interbasinal correlation of different formations in Indian Gondwana basins and assigning the age, wherever available. This approach also helps in better understanding of basinal history. Unless otherwise mentioned, the time scale proposed by International Commission on Stratigraphy (2004) has been followed in this paper.

@article{doi101007s1259401000976,
    author = "Mukhopadhyay, Goutam and Mukhopadhyay, Swapan and Roychowdhury, Manas and Parui, Prabir Kumar",
    title = "Stratigraphic Correlation between Different Gondwana Basins of India",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Journal of the Geological Society of India",
    abstract = "Abstract Gondwana Basins of India occur within the suture zones of Precambrian cratonic blocks of Peninsular India along some linear belts. More than 99\% of the total coal resource of the country is present within these basins. The basins are demarcated by boundary faults having graben or half-graben geometry. These basins preserve a thick sedimentary pile deposited over nearly 200 million years from latest Carboniferous to Lower Cretaceous. However, due to lack of well-constrained data, age of most of the formations is assigned tentatively. This has resulted in diversified views on both intra- and inter-basinal stratigraphic correlation particularly in case of Upper Gondwana formations. It is well recognised that there are distinct spatial and temporal similarities in lithological, faunal and floral distribution in different Gondwana Basins of southern continents, including India, that were once part of supercontinent Gondwanaland. To address the problems of Indian Gondwana stratigraphy, during the present study, some unique events, also recognised in other parts of Gondwanaland, like marine flooding surfaces, large scale tectonic events or major change in depositional environment have been used as a tool for temporal correlation within the Gondwana Basins of India. Many of these events have been dated from different basins elsewhere. Considering these major events as time planes the total time span of deposition in Gondwana Basins has been classified into seven time slots. Recognition of these time planes helps in interbasinal correlation of different formations in Indian Gondwana basins and assigning the age, wherever available. This approach also helps in better understanding of basinal history. Unless otherwise mentioned, the time scale proposed by International Commission on Stratigraphy (2004) has been followed in this paper.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-010-0097-6",
    doi = "10.1007/s12594-010-0097-6",
    openalex = "W2001356813",
    references = "doi1010160037073888901340"
}

It has often been assumed that Australasian Cretaceous dinosaur faunas were for the most part endemic, but with some Laurasian affinities. In this regard, some Australasian dinosaurs have been considered Jurassic relicts, while others were thought to represent typical Laurasian forms or endemic taxa. Furthermore, it has been proposed that some dinosaurian lineages, namely oviraptorosaurians, dromaeosaurids, ornithomimosaurians and protoceratopsians, may have originated in Australia before dispersing to Asia during the Early Cretaceous. Here we provide a detailed review of Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs from Australia and New Zealand, and compare them with taxa from other Gondwanan landmasses. Our results challenge the traditional view of Australian dinosaur faunas, with the majority of taxa displaying affinities that are concordant with current palaeobiogeographic models of Gondwanan terrestrial vertebrate faunal distribution. We reinterpret putative Australian ‘hypsilophodontids’ as basal ornithopods (some of them probably related to South American forms), and the recently described protoceratopsians are referred to Genasauria indet. and Ornithopoda indet. Among Theropoda, the Australian pigmy ‘Allosaurus’ is referred to the typical Gondwanan clade Abelisauroidea. Similarities are also observed between the enigmatic Australian theropod Rapator, Australovenator and the South American carcharodontosaurian Megaraptor. Timimus and putative oviraptorosaurians are referred to Dromaeosauridae. The present revision demonstrates that Australia's non-avian Cretaceous dinosaurian faunas were reminiscent of those found in other, roughly contemporaneous, Gondwanan landmasses, and are suggestive of faunal interchange with these regions via Antarctica.

@article{doi10108014772011003594870,
    author = "Agnolín, Federico L. and Ezcurra, Martín D. and Pais, Diego F. and Salisbury, Steven W.",
    title = "A reappraisal of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur faunas from Australia and New Zealand: evidence for their Gondwanan affinities",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Journal of Systematic Palaeontology",
    abstract = "It has often been assumed that Australasian Cretaceous dinosaur faunas were for the most part endemic, but with some Laurasian affinities. In this regard, some Australasian dinosaurs have been considered Jurassic relicts, while others were thought to represent typical Laurasian forms or endemic taxa. Furthermore, it has been proposed that some dinosaurian lineages, namely oviraptorosaurians, dromaeosaurids, ornithomimosaurians and protoceratopsians, may have originated in Australia before dispersing to Asia during the Early Cretaceous. Here we provide a detailed review of Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs from Australia and New Zealand, and compare them with taxa from other Gondwanan landmasses. Our results challenge the traditional view of Australian dinosaur faunas, with the majority of taxa displaying affinities that are concordant with current palaeobiogeographic models of Gondwanan terrestrial vertebrate faunal distribution. We reinterpret putative Australian ‘hypsilophodontids’ as basal ornithopods (some of them probably related to South American forms), and the recently described protoceratopsians are referred to Genasauria indet. and Ornithopoda indet. Among Theropoda, the Australian pigmy ‘Allosaurus’ is referred to the typical Gondwanan clade Abelisauroidea. Similarities are also observed between the enigmatic Australian theropod Rapator, Australovenator and the South American carcharodontosaurian Megaraptor. Timimus and putative oviraptorosaurians are referred to Dromaeosauridae. The present revision demonstrates that Australia's non-avian Cretaceous dinosaurian faunas were reminiscent of those found in other, roughly contemporaneous, Gondwanan landmasses, and are suggestive of faunal interchange with these regions via Antarctica.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/14772011003594870",
    doi = "10.1080/14772011003594870",
    openalex = "W2151988812",
    references = "chinsamy1998polar, crossref1998encyclopedia, deklerk2000a, doi101017s0016756804000330, doi10108002724634198510011859, doi10108002724634199510011230, doi101093oxfordjournalsafrafa101747, doi101098rspb20060443, doi101126science10246376, doi101126science11282807, doi101126science24248841403, doi101126science28454232137, doi105281zenodo16171435, doi105281zenodo16673433, doi105281zenodo16692311, doi105860choice331556, doi105860choice353642, doi107312kiel11918, openalexw1821824396, openalexw1879660213, openalexw2173200745, openalexw597685939, openalexw616953834"
}

Derived large-mouthed snakes (macrostomatans) possess numerous specializations in their skull and lower jaws that allow them to consume large vertebrate prey. In contrast, basal snakes lack these adaptations and feed primarily on small prey items. The sequence of osteological and behavioral modifications involved in the evolution of the macrostomatan condition has remained an open question because of disagreement about the origin and interrelationships of snakes, the paucity of well-preserved early snake fossils on many continental landmasses, and the lack of information about the feeding ecology of early snakes. We report on a partial skeleton of a new 3.5-m-long snake, Sanajeh indicus gen. et sp. nov., recovered from Upper Cretaceous rocks of western India. S. indicus was fossilized in association with a sauropod dinosaur egg clutch, coiled around an egg and adjacent to the remains of a ca. 0.5-m-long hatchling. Multiple snake-egg associations at the site strongly suggest that S. indicus frequented nesting grounds and preyed on hatchling sauropods. We interpret this pattern as "ethofossil" preservation of feeding behavior. S. indicus lacks specializations of modern egg-eaters and of macrostomatans, and skull and vertebral synapomorphies place it in an intermediate position in snake phylogeny. Sanajeh and its large-bodied madtsoiid sister taxa Yurlunggur camfieldensis and Wonambi naracoortensis from the Neogene of Australia show specializations for intraoral prey transport but lack the adaptations for wide gape that characterize living macrostomatan snakes. The Dholi Dungri fossils are the second definitive association between sauropod eggs and embryonic or hatchling remains. New fossils from western India provide direct evidence of feeding ecology in a Mesozoic snake and demonstrate predation risks for hatchling sauropod dinosaurs. Our results suggest that large body size and jaw mobility afforded some non-macrostomatan snakes a greater diversity of prey items than previously suspected on the basis of extant basal snakes.

@article{doi101371journalpbio1000322,
    author = "Wilson, Jeffrey A. and Mohabey, Dhananjay M. and Peters, Shanan E. and Head, Jason J.",
    title = "Predation upon Hatchling Dinosaurs by a New Snake from the Late Cretaceous of India",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "PLoS Biology",
    abstract = {Derived large-mouthed snakes (macrostomatans) possess numerous specializations in their skull and lower jaws that allow them to consume large vertebrate prey. In contrast, basal snakes lack these adaptations and feed primarily on small prey items. The sequence of osteological and behavioral modifications involved in the evolution of the macrostomatan condition has remained an open question because of disagreement about the origin and interrelationships of snakes, the paucity of well-preserved early snake fossils on many continental landmasses, and the lack of information about the feeding ecology of early snakes. We report on a partial skeleton of a new 3.5-m-long snake, Sanajeh indicus gen. et sp. nov., recovered from Upper Cretaceous rocks of western India. S. indicus was fossilized in association with a sauropod dinosaur egg clutch, coiled around an egg and adjacent to the remains of a ca. 0.5-m-long hatchling. Multiple snake-egg associations at the site strongly suggest that S. indicus frequented nesting grounds and preyed on hatchling sauropods. We interpret this pattern as "ethofossil" preservation of feeding behavior. S. indicus lacks specializations of modern egg-eaters and of macrostomatans, and skull and vertebral synapomorphies place it in an intermediate position in snake phylogeny. Sanajeh and its large-bodied madtsoiid sister taxa Yurlunggur camfieldensis and Wonambi naracoortensis from the Neogene of Australia show specializations for intraoral prey transport but lack the adaptations for wide gape that characterize living macrostomatan snakes. The Dholi Dungri fossils are the second definitive association between sauropod eggs and embryonic or hatchling remains. New fossils from western India provide direct evidence of feeding ecology in a Mesozoic snake and demonstrate predation risks for hatchling sauropod dinosaurs. Our results suggest that large body size and jaw mobility afforded some non-macrostomatan snakes a greater diversity of prey items than previously suspected on the basis of extant basal snakes.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000322",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pbio.1000322",
    openalex = "W1970489014",
    references = "doi101002jmor1051180206"
}

[1] A strong 50–35 Ma decrease in India-Asia convergence is generally ascribed to continent-continent collision. However, a convergence rate increase of similar magnitude occurred between ∼65–50 Ma. An earlier increase occurred at ∼90 Ma. Both episodes of accelerated convergence followed upon arrival of a mantle plume below and emplacement of a large igneous province (LIP) on the Indian plate. We here first confirm these convergence rate trends, reassessing the Indo-Atlantic plate circuits. Then, using two different numerical models, we assess whether plume head arrival and its lateral asthenospheric flow may explain the plate velocity increases and whether decreased plume flux and increasing continent-plume distance may explain deceleration, even without continental collision. The results show that plume head arrival can indeed lead to absolute Indian plate motion accelerations on the order of several cm/yr, followed by decelerations on timescales similar to the reconstructed fluctuations. The 90 Ma increase could potentially be explained as response to the Morondova mantle plume alone. The 65–50 Ma convergence rate increase, however, is larger than can be explained by plume head spreading alone. We concur with previous hypotheses that plume-induced weakening of the Indian continental lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling and an increased slab pull and ridge push efficiency are the most likely explanations for the large convergence rate increase. The post-50 Ma decrease is best explained by orogeny-related increased trench resistivity, decreased slab pull due to continental subduction, and possibly restrengthening of lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling upon plume demise.

@article{doi1010292010jb008051,
    author = "van Hinsbergen, Douwe J.J. and Steinberger, Bernhard and Doubrovine, Pavel V. and Gassmöller, René",
    title = "Acceleration and deceleration of India-Asia convergence since the Cretaceous: Roles of mantle plumes and continental collision",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres",
    abstract = "[1] A strong 50–35 Ma decrease in India-Asia convergence is generally ascribed to continent-continent collision. However, a convergence rate increase of similar magnitude occurred between ∼65–50 Ma. An earlier increase occurred at ∼90 Ma. Both episodes of accelerated convergence followed upon arrival of a mantle plume below and emplacement of a large igneous province (LIP) on the Indian plate. We here first confirm these convergence rate trends, reassessing the Indo-Atlantic plate circuits. Then, using two different numerical models, we assess whether plume head arrival and its lateral asthenospheric flow may explain the plate velocity increases and whether decreased plume flux and increasing continent-plume distance may explain deceleration, even without continental collision. The results show that plume head arrival can indeed lead to absolute Indian plate motion accelerations on the order of several cm/yr, followed by decelerations on timescales similar to the reconstructed fluctuations. The 90 Ma increase could potentially be explained as response to the Morondova mantle plume alone. The 65–50 Ma convergence rate increase, however, is larger than can be explained by plume head spreading alone. We concur with previous hypotheses that plume-induced weakening of the Indian continental lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling and an increased slab pull and ridge push efficiency are the most likely explanations for the large convergence rate increase. The post-50 Ma decrease is best explained by orogeny-related increased trench resistivity, decreased slab pull due to continental subduction, and possibly restrengthening of lithosphere-asthenosphere coupling upon plume demise.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1029/2010jb008051",
    doi = "10.1029/2010jb008051",
    openalex = "W2058958898",
    references = "doi101016s0012821x0000159x, doi104095215638"
}

India's Late Cretaceous fossil mammals include the only undisputed pre-Tertiary Gondwanan eutherians, such as Deccanolestes. Recent studies have suggested a relationship between Deccanolestes and African and European Paleocene adapisoriculids, which have been variably identified as stem euarchontans, stem primates, lipotyphlan insectivores, or afrosoricids. Support for a close relationship between Deccanolestes and any of these placental mammal clades would be unique in representing a confirmed Mesozoic record of a placental mammal. However, some paleogeographic reconstructions place India at its peak isolation from all other continents during the latest Cretaceous, complicating reconstructions of the biogeographic history of the placental radiation. Recent fieldwork in India has recovered dozens of better-preserved specimens of Cretaceous eutherians, including several new species. Here, we incorporate these new specimens into an extensive phylogenetic analysis that includes every clade with a previously hypothesized relationship to Deccanolestes. Our results support a robust relationship between Deccanolestes and Paleocene adapisoriculids, but do not support a close affinity between these taxa and any placental clade, demonstrating that Deccanolestes is not a Cretaceous placental mammal and reinforcing the sizeable gap between molecular and fossil divergence time estimates for the placental mammal radiation. Instead, our expanded data push Adapisoriculidae, including Deccanolestes, into a much more basal position than in earlier analyses, strengthening hypotheses that scansoriality and arboreality were prevalent early in eutherian evolution. This comprehensive phylogeny indicates that faunal exchange occurred between India, Africa, and Europe in the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene, and suggests a previously unrecognized ∼30 to 45 Myr "ghost lineage" for these Gondwanan eutherians.

@article{doi101073pnas1108723108,
    author = "Goswami, Anjali and Prasad, Guntupalli V. R. and Upchurch, Paul and Boyer, Douglas and Seiffert, Erik R. and Verma, Omkar and Gheerbrant, Emmanuel and Flynn, John J.",
    title = "A radiation of arboreal basal eutherian mammals beginning in the Late Cretaceous of India",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = {India's Late Cretaceous fossil mammals include the only undisputed pre-Tertiary Gondwanan eutherians, such as Deccanolestes. Recent studies have suggested a relationship between Deccanolestes and African and European Paleocene adapisoriculids, which have been variably identified as stem euarchontans, stem primates, lipotyphlan insectivores, or afrosoricids. Support for a close relationship between Deccanolestes and any of these placental mammal clades would be unique in representing a confirmed Mesozoic record of a placental mammal. However, some paleogeographic reconstructions place India at its peak isolation from all other continents during the latest Cretaceous, complicating reconstructions of the biogeographic history of the placental radiation. Recent fieldwork in India has recovered dozens of better-preserved specimens of Cretaceous eutherians, including several new species. Here, we incorporate these new specimens into an extensive phylogenetic analysis that includes every clade with a previously hypothesized relationship to Deccanolestes. Our results support a robust relationship between Deccanolestes and Paleocene adapisoriculids, but do not support a close affinity between these taxa and any placental clade, demonstrating that Deccanolestes is not a Cretaceous placental mammal and reinforcing the sizeable gap between molecular and fossil divergence time estimates for the placental mammal radiation. Instead, our expanded data push Adapisoriculidae, including Deccanolestes, into a much more basal position than in earlier analyses, strengthening hypotheses that scansoriality and arboreality were prevalent early in eutherian evolution. This comprehensive phylogeny indicates that faunal exchange occurred between India, Africa, and Europe in the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene, and suggests a previously unrecognized ∼30 to 45 Myr "ghost lineage" for these Gondwanan eutherians.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1108723108",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.1108723108",
    openalex = "W2126649458"
}

@incollection{chatterjee2013a,
    author = "Chatterjee, S.",
    title = "A New Theropod Dinosaur from India with Remarks on the Gondwana-Laurasia Connection in the Late Triassic",
    year = "2013",
    booktitle = "Geophysical Monograph Series",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1029/gm041p0183",
    doi = "10.1029/gm041p0183",
    openalex = "W1588612331",
    pages = "183-189",
    references = "doi101038299048a0, doi101098rstb19850092, doi101111j109583121976tb00244x, doi101111j146363951921tb00489x, doi10113000167606198091707pgitap20co2, doi102475ajs24111, doi105281zenodo16692311, openalexw2788234611, openalexw575222456"
}

The Late Cretaceous (∼95-66 million years ago) western North American landmass of Laramidia displayed heightened non-marine vertebrate diversity and intracontinental regionalism relative to other latest Cretaceous Laurasian ecosystems. Processes generating these patterns during this interval remain poorly understood despite their presumed role in the diversification of many clades. Tyrannosauridae, a clade of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs restricted to the Late Cretaceous of Laramidia and Asia, represents an ideal group for investigating Laramidian patterns of evolution. We use new tyrannosaurid discoveries from Utah--including a new taxon which represents the geologically oldest member of the clade--to investigate the evolution and biogeography of Tyrannosauridae. These data suggest a Laramidian origin for Tyrannosauridae, and implicate sea-level related controls in the isolation, diversification, and dispersal of this and many other Late Cretaceous vertebrate clades.

@article{doi101371journalpone0079420,
    author = "Loewen, Mark A. and Irmis, Randall B. and Sertich, Joseph J. W. and Currie, Philip J. and Sampson, Scott D.",
    title = "Tyrant Dinosaur Evolution Tracks the Rise and Fall of Late Cretaceous Oceans",
    year = "2013",
    journal = "PLoS ONE",
    abstract = "The Late Cretaceous (∼95-66 million years ago) western North American landmass of Laramidia displayed heightened non-marine vertebrate diversity and intracontinental regionalism relative to other latest Cretaceous Laurasian ecosystems. Processes generating these patterns during this interval remain poorly understood despite their presumed role in the diversification of many clades. Tyrannosauridae, a clade of large-bodied theropod dinosaurs restricted to the Late Cretaceous of Laramidia and Asia, represents an ideal group for investigating Laramidian patterns of evolution. We use new tyrannosaurid discoveries from Utah--including a new taxon which represents the geologically oldest member of the clade--to investigate the evolution and biogeography of Tyrannosauridae. These data suggest a Laramidian origin for Tyrannosauridae, and implicate sea-level related controls in the isolation, diversification, and dispersal of this and many other Late Cretaceous vertebrate clades.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079420",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0079420",
    openalex = "W2091933212",
    references = "doi101080027246342011557116, doi10108010635150701883881, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi101111j10963642200900591x, doi101111j155856461985tb00420x, doi101126science1116412, doi101126science23547931156, doi101214aos1176344552, doi101371journalpone0021376, doi1015259780520941434, doi1023072408678, doi102475ajss321125417, doi105281zenodo16171435, nesbitt2009a, openalexw2611511275, openalexw3215057009"
}

The osteology of Diamantinasaurus matildae, the most complete Cretaceous sauropod described from Australia to date, is comprehensively reassessed. The preparation of additional material from the type locality, pertaining to the same individual as the holotype, sheds light on the morphology of the axial skeleton and provides additional information on the appendicular skeleton. The new material comprises two dorsal vertebrae, an incomplete sacrum (including four partial coalesced vertebrae), the right coracoid, the right radius, an additional manual phalanx, and a previously missing portion of the right fibula. In this study we identify thirteen autapomorphic characters of Diamantinasaurus, and an additional five characters that are locally autapomorphic within Titanosauriformes. This work provided an opportunity to revisit the phylogenetic placement of Diamantinasaurus. In two independent data matrices, Diamantinasaurus was recovered within Lithostrotia. One analysis resolved Diamantinasaurus as the sister taxon to the approximately coeval Tapuiasaurus from Brazil, whereas the second analysis recovered Diamantinasaurus as the sister taxon to Opisthocoelicaudia from the latest Cretaceous of Mongolia. The characters supporting the recovered relationships are analysed, and the palaeobiogeographical implications of the lithostrotian status of Diamantinasaurus are explored. A brief review of the body fossil record of Australian Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates suggests close ties to South America in particular, and to Gondwana more generally.

@article{doi101016jgr201403014,
    author = "Poropat, Stephen F. and Upchurch, Paul and Mannion, Philip D. and Hocknull, Scott and Kear, Benjamin P. and Sloan, Trish and Sinapius, George H. K. and Elliott, David A.",
    title = "Revision of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al. 2009 from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia: Implications for Gondwanan titanosauriform dispersal",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "Gondwana Research",
    abstract = "The osteology of Diamantinasaurus matildae, the most complete Cretaceous sauropod described from Australia to date, is comprehensively reassessed. The preparation of additional material from the type locality, pertaining to the same individual as the holotype, sheds light on the morphology of the axial skeleton and provides additional information on the appendicular skeleton. The new material comprises two dorsal vertebrae, an incomplete sacrum (including four partial coalesced vertebrae), the right coracoid, the right radius, an additional manual phalanx, and a previously missing portion of the right fibula. In this study we identify thirteen autapomorphic characters of Diamantinasaurus, and an additional five characters that are locally autapomorphic within Titanosauriformes. This work provided an opportunity to revisit the phylogenetic placement of Diamantinasaurus. In two independent data matrices, Diamantinasaurus was recovered within Lithostrotia. One analysis resolved Diamantinasaurus as the sister taxon to the approximately coeval Tapuiasaurus from Brazil, whereas the second analysis recovered Diamantinasaurus as the sister taxon to Opisthocoelicaudia from the latest Cretaceous of Mongolia. The characters supporting the recovered relationships are analysed, and the palaeobiogeographical implications of the lithostrotian status of Diamantinasaurus are explored. A brief review of the body fossil record of Australian Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates suggests close ties to South America in particular, and to Gondwana more generally.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2014.03.014",
    doi = "10.1016/j.gr.2014.03.014",
    openalex = "W2077845776",
    references = "doi101016jcretres201304001, doi101046j10963642200200029x, doi101071bt00023, doi10108002724634199810011115, doi10108002724634199910011178, doi101098rspl18870117, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi1023071292217, doi102475ajss319111253, doi107312kiel11918, openalexw3215057009"
}

Abstract A charophyte gyrogonite assemblage consisting of Platychara cf. sahnii, Nemegtichara grambastii and Microchara sp. is reported herein from two localities (Bara Simla Hill and Chui Hill sections) of the Lameta Formation at Jabalpur. he Lameta Formation locally underlying the Deccan traps has been shown to be pedogenically modified alluvial plain deposits containing one of the most extensive dinosaur nesting sites in the world. They are associated with dinosaur bones and freshwater ostracod assemblages that suggest a Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age. This is the first detailed systematic account of charophyte gyrogonites from the Lameta Formation. This charophyte assemblage is compatible with the biostratigraphic attribution provided by the ostracods. From a biogeographic viewpoint, it exhibits considerable similarity to other infratrappean assemblages of the Nand, Dongargaon, and Dhamni-Pavna sections (Maharashtra), and some intertrappean assemblages of Kora in Gujarat, Rangapur in Andhra Pradesh and Gurmatkal in South India. Globally, the genus Microchara is well distributed throughout Eurasia, whereas the genus Platychara occurs richly in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Europe, Asia, America and Africa. However, at the specific level, Platychara cf. sahnii shows close affinities with charophytes from the Maastrichtian of Iran whilst Nemegtichara grambastii shows distinct affinities with two species of Early Palaeogene deposits of China and Mongolia. The presence of charophyte gyrogonites in the Lameta sediments is attributed to local lacustrine and palustrine conditions within a flood plain environment.

@article{doi102478agp20140016,
    author = "Khosla, Ashu",
    title = "Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Charophyte Gyrogonites from the Lameta Formation of Jabalpur, Central India: Palaeobiogeographic and Palaeoecological Implications",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "Acta Geologica Polonica",
    abstract = "Abstract A charophyte gyrogonite assemblage consisting of Platychara cf. sahnii, Nemegtichara grambastii and Microchara sp. is reported herein from two localities (Bara Simla Hill and Chui Hill sections) of the Lameta Formation at Jabalpur. he Lameta Formation locally underlying the Deccan traps has been shown to be pedogenically modified alluvial plain deposits containing one of the most extensive dinosaur nesting sites in the world. They are associated with dinosaur bones and freshwater ostracod assemblages that suggest a Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age. This is the first detailed systematic account of charophyte gyrogonites from the Lameta Formation. This charophyte assemblage is compatible with the biostratigraphic attribution provided by the ostracods. From a biogeographic viewpoint, it exhibits considerable similarity to other infratrappean assemblages of the Nand, Dongargaon, and Dhamni-Pavna sections (Maharashtra), and some intertrappean assemblages of Kora in Gujarat, Rangapur in Andhra Pradesh and Gurmatkal in South India. Globally, the genus Microchara is well distributed throughout Eurasia, whereas the genus Platychara occurs richly in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Europe, Asia, America and Africa. However, at the specific level, Platychara cf. sahnii shows close affinities with charophytes from the Maastrichtian of Iran whilst Nemegtichara grambastii shows distinct affinities with two species of Early Palaeogene deposits of China and Mongolia. The presence of charophyte gyrogonites in the Lameta sediments is attributed to local lacustrine and palustrine conditions within a flood plain environment.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2478/agp-2014-0016",
    doi = "10.2478/agp-2014-0016",
    openalex = "W2127147560",
    references = "doi101007s1034701203171, doi1010160012821x86901184, doi1010160012825272900724, doi101016jepsl200902016, doi101080089129632014912646, doi101126science3285981974a, doi1011300091761319890170316pvotao23co2, doi1023071483846, openalexw2602651555, openalexw2735326487"
}

The well-known Late Cretaceous Lameta Ghat locality (Jabalpur, India) provides a window of opportunity to study a large stable, near shore sandy beach, which was widely used by sauropod dinosaurs as a hatchery. In this paper, we revisit the eggs and eggshell fragments previously assigned to lizards from this locality and reassign them to crocodylomorphs. Several features point to a crocodilian affinity, including a subspherical to ellipsoidal shape, smooth, uneven external surface, discrete trapezoid shaped shell units with wide top and narrow base, basal knobs and wedge shaped crystallites showing typical inverted triangular extinction under crossed nicols. The crocodylomorph eggshell material presented in this paper adds to the skeletal data of these most probably Cretaceous-Eocene dryosaurid crocodiles.

@article{doi101371journalpone0144369,
    author = "Srivastava, Rahul and Patnaik, Rajeev and Shukla, Uma Kant and Sahni, Ashok",
    title = "Crocodilian Nest in a Late Cretaceous Sauropod Hatchery from the Type Lameta Ghat Locality, Jabalpur, India",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "PLoS ONE",
    abstract = "The well-known Late Cretaceous Lameta Ghat locality (Jabalpur, India) provides a window of opportunity to study a large stable, near shore sandy beach, which was widely used by sauropod dinosaurs as a hatchery. In this paper, we revisit the eggs and eggshell fragments previously assigned to lizards from this locality and reassign them to crocodylomorphs. Several features point to a crocodilian affinity, including a subspherical to ellipsoidal shape, smooth, uneven external surface, discrete trapezoid shaped shell units with wide top and narrow base, basal knobs and wedge shaped crystallites showing typical inverted triangular extinction under crossed nicols. The crocodylomorph eggshell material presented in this paper adds to the skeletal data of these most probably Cretaceous-Eocene dryosaurid crocodiles.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144369",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0144369",
    openalex = "W2192310241",
    references = "doi102478agp20140016"
}

Minmi is the only known genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from Australia. Seven specimens are known, all from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland. Only two of these have been described in any detail: the holotype specimen Minmi paravertebra from the Bungil Formation near Roma, and a near complete skeleton from the Allaru Mudstone on Marathon Station near Richmond, preliminarily referred to a possible new species of Minmi. The Marathon specimen represents one of the world's most complete ankylosaurian skeletons and the best-preserved dinosaurian fossil from eastern Gondwana. Moreover, among ankylosaurians, its skull is one of only a few in which the majority of sutures have not been obliterated by dermal ossifications or surface remodelling. Recent preparation of the Marathon specimen has revealed new details of the palate and narial regions, permitting a comprehensive description and thus providing new insights cranial osteology of a basal ankylosaurian. The skull has also undergone computed tomography, digital segmentation and 3D computer visualisation enabling the reconstruction of its nasal cavity and endocranium. The airways of the Marathon specimen are more complicated than non-ankylosaurian dinosaurs but less so than derived ankylosaurians. The cranial (brain) endocast is superficially similar to those of other ankylosaurians but is strongly divergent in many important respects. The inner ear is extremely large and unlike that of any dinosaur yet known. Based on a high number of diagnostic differences between the skull of the Marathon specimen and other ankylosaurians, we consider it prudent to assign this specimen to a new genus and species of ankylosaurian. Kunbarrasaurus ieversi gen. et sp. nov. represents the second genus of ankylosaurian from Australia and is characterised by an unusual melange of both primitive and derived characters, shedding new light on the evolution of the ankylosaurian skull.

@article{doi107717peerj1475,
    author = "Leahey, Lucy G. and Molnar, Ralph E. and Carpenter, Kenneth and Witmer, Lawrence M. and Salisbury, Steven W.",
    title = "Cranial osteology of the ankylosaurian dinosaur formerly known as Minmi sp. (Ornithischia: Thyreophora) from the Lower Cretaceous Allaru Mudstone of Richmond, Queensland, Australia",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "PeerJ",
    abstract = "Minmi is the only known genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from Australia. Seven specimens are known, all from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland. Only two of these have been described in any detail: the holotype specimen Minmi paravertebra from the Bungil Formation near Roma, and a near complete skeleton from the Allaru Mudstone on Marathon Station near Richmond, preliminarily referred to a possible new species of Minmi. The Marathon specimen represents one of the world's most complete ankylosaurian skeletons and the best-preserved dinosaurian fossil from eastern Gondwana. Moreover, among ankylosaurians, its skull is one of only a few in which the majority of sutures have not been obliterated by dermal ossifications or surface remodelling. Recent preparation of the Marathon specimen has revealed new details of the palate and narial regions, permitting a comprehensive description and thus providing new insights cranial osteology of a basal ankylosaurian. The skull has also undergone computed tomography, digital segmentation and 3D computer visualisation enabling the reconstruction of its nasal cavity and endocranium. The airways of the Marathon specimen are more complicated than non-ankylosaurian dinosaurs but less so than derived ankylosaurians. The cranial (brain) endocast is superficially similar to those of other ankylosaurians but is strongly divergent in many important respects. The inner ear is extremely large and unlike that of any dinosaur yet known. Based on a high number of diagnostic differences between the skull of the Marathon specimen and other ankylosaurians, we consider it prudent to assign this specimen to a new genus and species of ankylosaurian. Kunbarrasaurus ieversi gen. et sp. nov. represents the second genus of ankylosaurian from Australia and is characterised by an unusual melange of both primitive and derived characters, shedding new light on the evolution of the ankylosaurian skull.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1475",
    doi = "10.7717/peerj.1475",
    openalex = "W2195920462",
    references = "doi101002ar20984, doi101016jgr201403014, doi1010801477201920151059985"
}

@article{chatterjee2016indias,
    author = "Chatterjee, Sankar and Bajpai, Sunil",
    title = "India’s Northward Drift from Gondwana to Asia During the Late Cretaceous-Eocene",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.16943/ptinsa/2016/48462",
    doi = "10.16943/ptinsa/2016/48462",
    number = "3",
    openalex = "W2492009242",
    volume = "82",
    references = "doi1010022014tc003522, doi101016jearscirev200801007, doi101016jgr201207001, doi101016s0012821x99001314, doi1010292010jb007673, doi101038311615a0, doi101073pnas1117262109, doi101111j1365246x1971tb02190x, doi101126scienceaaa0118, doi10113000167606198798678tcotat20co2"
}

The 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.

@article{doi101016jgsf201605001,
    author = "Smith, Thierry and Kumar, Kishor and Rana, R. S. and Folie, Annelise and Solé, Floréal and Noiret, Corentin and Steeman, Thomas and Sahni, Ashok and Rose, Kenneth D.",
    title = "New early Eocene vertebrate assemblage from western India reveals a mixed fauna of European and Gondwana affinities",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Geoscience Frontiers",
    abstract = "The 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.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2016.05.001",
    doi = "10.1016/j.gsf.2016.05.001",
    openalex = "W2399682341",
    references = "doi103897zookeys4698439"
}

Australian dinosaurs have played a rare but controversial role in the debate surrounding the effect of Gondwanan break-up on Cretaceous dinosaur distribution. Major spatiotemporal gaps in the Gondwanan Cretaceous fossil record, coupled with taxon incompleteness, have hindered research on this effect, especially in Australia. Here we report on two new sauropod specimens from the early Late Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia, that have important implications for Cretaceous dinosaur palaeobiogeography. Savannasaurus elliottorum gen. et sp. nov. comprises one of the most complete Cretaceous sauropod skeletons ever found in Australia, whereas a new specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae includes the first ever cranial remains of an Australian sauropod. The results of a new phylogenetic analysis, in which both Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus are recovered within Titanosauria, were used as the basis for a quantitative palaeobiogeographical analysis of macronarian sauropods. Titanosaurs achieved a worldwide distribution by at least 125 million years ago, suggesting that mid-Cretaceous Australian sauropods represent remnants of clades which were widespread during the Early Cretaceous. These lineages would have entered Australasia via dispersal from South America, presumably across Antarctica. High latitude sauropod dispersal might have been facilitated by Albian-Turonian warming that lifted a palaeoclimatic dispersal barrier between Antarctica and South America.

@article{doi101038srep34467,
    author = "Poropat, Stephen F. and Mannion, Philip D. and Upchurch, Paul and Hocknull, Scott and Kear, Benjamin P. and Kundrát, Martin and Tischler, Travis R. and Sloan, Trish and Sinapius, George H. K. and Elliott, Judy A. and Elliott, David A.",
    title = "New Australian sauropods shed light on Cretaceous dinosaur palaeobiogeography",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Scientific Reports",
    abstract = "Australian dinosaurs have played a rare but controversial role in the debate surrounding the effect of Gondwanan break-up on Cretaceous dinosaur distribution. Major spatiotemporal gaps in the Gondwanan Cretaceous fossil record, coupled with taxon incompleteness, have hindered research on this effect, especially in Australia. Here we report on two new sauropod specimens from the early Late Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia, that have important implications for Cretaceous dinosaur palaeobiogeography. Savannasaurus elliottorum gen. et sp. nov. comprises one of the most complete Cretaceous sauropod skeletons ever found in Australia, whereas a new specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae includes the first ever cranial remains of an Australian sauropod. The results of a new phylogenetic analysis, in which both Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus are recovered within Titanosauria, were used as the basis for a quantitative palaeobiogeographical analysis of macronarian sauropods. Titanosaurs achieved a worldwide distribution by at least 125 million years ago, suggesting that mid-Cretaceous Australian sauropods represent remnants of clades which were widespread during the Early Cretaceous. These lineages would have entered Australasia via dispersal from South America, presumably across Antarctica. High latitude sauropod dispersal might have been facilitated by Albian-Turonian warming that lifted a palaeoclimatic dispersal barrier between Antarctica and South America.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/srep34467",
    doi = "10.1038/srep34467",
    openalex = "W2535200874",
    references = "doi101016jcretres201304001, doi101016jearscirev201203002, doi101016jgr201212009, doi101016jgr201403014, doi101038srep19165, doi101046j10963642200200029x, doi10108014772011003594870, doi1010801477201920151059985, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi101111j109636421998tb00569x, doi101111zoj12029, doi101126science1116412, doi101126science2725264986, doi1011300016760619951071164mlccot23co2, doi101371journalpone0006190, doi101371journalpone0037122, doi101371journalpone0125819, doi1015259780520941434, doi1021425f55419694, doi1021425f5fbg19694, doi105194cp813232012, doi107717peerj1523, openalexw2173200745"
}

Bulk sampling from Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences at Kisalpuri (District Dindori, Madhya Pradesh) and Pisdura–Dongargaon (Chandrapur District, Maharashtra) in Peninsular India has yielded the dental remains of myliobatid and pycnodont fish. This fish fauna comprises Igdabatis indicus, Pycnodontoidea indet. and Pycnodontidae indet., and resembles assemblages known from Upper Cretaceous deposits in Africa and Europe. While paleobiogeographically speaking, the presence of Igdabatis suggests a series of shallow marine dispersals that may have occurred between Africa and India, possibly along the margins of the Kohistan–Ladakh island arc during the latest Cretaceous; the record of pycnodont fish favours instead a Gondwanan dispersal event.

@article{doi1010800891296320161154954,
    author = "Verma, Omkar and Khosla, Ashu and Kaur, Jasdeep and Prashanth, M",
    title = "Myliobatid and pycnodont fish from the Late Cretaceous of Central India and their paleobiogeographic implications",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Historical Biology",
    abstract = "Bulk sampling from Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences at Kisalpuri (District Dindori, Madhya Pradesh) and Pisdura–Dongargaon (Chandrapur District, Maharashtra) in Peninsular India has yielded the dental remains of myliobatid and pycnodont fish. This fish fauna comprises Igdabatis indicus, Pycnodontoidea indet. and Pycnodontidae indet., and resembles assemblages known from Upper Cretaceous deposits in Africa and Europe. While paleobiogeographically speaking, the presence of Igdabatis suggests a series of shallow marine dispersals that may have occurred between Africa and India, possibly along the margins of the Kohistan–Ladakh island arc during the latest Cretaceous; the record of pycnodont fish favours instead a Gondwanan dispersal event.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2016.1154954",
    doi = "10.1080/08912963.2016.1154954",
    openalex = "W2409613919",
    references = "doi102478agp20140016"
}

The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap is represented by several partial skeletons from a single locality within the Coniacian (lower Upper Cretaceous) Sierra Barrosa Formation in the south of Mendoza Province, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina. A detailed revision of Mendozasaurus, including previously undocumented remains from the holotype site, allows us to more firmly establish its position within Titanosauria, as well as enabling an emended diagnosis of this taxon. Autapomorphies include: (1) middle and posterior cervical vertebrae with tall and transversely expanded neural spines that are wider than the centra, formed laterally by spinodiapophyseal laminae that are not connected with the pre- or postzygapophyses; (2) anterior caudal vertebrae (excluding anteriormost) with ventrolateral ridge-like expansion of prezygapophyses; and (3) humerus with divided lateral distal condyle on anterior surface. New remains demonstrate that the presacral vertebrae of Mendozasaurus were not unusually short anteroposteriorly, with this compression instead resulting from taphonomic crushing. Comparative studies of articulated pedes of other taxa allow us to interpret that the pedal formula of Mendozasaurus was 2-2-2-2-0, based on disarticulated bones that form a right hind foot. Mendozasaurus was incorporated into an expanded version of a titanosauriform-focussed phylogenetic data matrix, along with several other contemporaneous South American titanosaurs. The resultant data matrix comprises 84 taxa scored for 423 characters, and our phylogenetic analysis recovers Mendozasaurus as the most basal member of a diverse Lognkosauria, including Futalognkosaurus and the gigantic titanosaurs Argentinosaurus, Notocolossus, Patagotitan and Puertasaurus. Lognkosauria forms a clade with Rinconsauria (Muyelensaurus + Rinconsaurus), with Epachthosaurus and Pitekunsaurus recovered at the base of this grouping. A basal lithostrotian position for this South American clade is well supported, contrasting with some analyses that have placed these taxa outside of Lithostrotia or closer to Saltasauridae. The sister clade to this South American group is composed of an array of near-global taxa and supports the hypothesis that most titanosaurian clades were widespread by the Early-middle Cretaceous.

@article{doi101093zoolinneanzlx103,
    author = "Riga, Bernardo J. González and Mannion, Philip D. and Poropat, Stephen F. and David, Leonardo D. Ortiz and Coria, Juan Pedro",
    title = "Osteology of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap: implications for basal titanosaur relationships",
    year = "2017",
    journal = "Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society",
    abstract = "The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap is represented by several partial skeletons from a single locality within the Coniacian (lower Upper Cretaceous) Sierra Barrosa Formation in the south of Mendoza Province, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina. A detailed revision of Mendozasaurus, including previously undocumented remains from the holotype site, allows us to more firmly establish its position within Titanosauria, as well as enabling an emended diagnosis of this taxon. Autapomorphies include: (1) middle and posterior cervical vertebrae with tall and transversely expanded neural spines that are wider than the centra, formed laterally by spinodiapophyseal laminae that are not connected with the pre- or postzygapophyses; (2) anterior caudal vertebrae (excluding anteriormost) with ventrolateral ridge-like expansion of prezygapophyses; and (3) humerus with divided lateral distal condyle on anterior surface. New remains demonstrate that the presacral vertebrae of Mendozasaurus were not unusually short anteroposteriorly, with this compression instead resulting from taphonomic crushing. Comparative studies of articulated pedes of other taxa allow us to interpret that the pedal formula of Mendozasaurus was 2-2-2-2-0, based on disarticulated bones that form a right hind foot. Mendozasaurus was incorporated into an expanded version of a titanosauriform-focussed phylogenetic data matrix, along with several other contemporaneous South American titanosaurs. The resultant data matrix comprises 84 taxa scored for 423 characters, and our phylogenetic analysis recovers Mendozasaurus as the most basal member of a diverse Lognkosauria, including Futalognkosaurus and the gigantic titanosaurs Argentinosaurus, Notocolossus, Patagotitan and Puertasaurus. Lognkosauria forms a clade with Rinconsauria (Muyelensaurus + Rinconsaurus), with Epachthosaurus and Pitekunsaurus recovered at the base of this grouping. A basal lithostrotian position for this South American clade is well supported, contrasting with some analyses that have placed these taxa outside of Lithostrotia or closer to Saltasauridae. The sister clade to this South American group is composed of an array of near-global taxa and supports the hypothesis that most titanosaurian clades were widespread by the Early-middle Cretaceous.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx103",
    doi = "10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx103",
    openalex = "W2774005011",
    references = "doi101016jgr201403014, doi101016jjsames201411008, doi101038srep06196, doi101038srep19165, doi101038srep34467, doi101046j10963642200200029x, doi10108002724634199810011115, doi10108002724634199910011178, doi101098rspb20171219, doi101098rstb19950125, doi101111j10960031200800217x, doi101111j109636421998tb00569x, doi101371journalpone0125819, doi101525california97805202420980030015, doi1022179revmacn12239, doi1022179revmacn7344, doi1023073889325, doi102475ajss31695411, doi102475ajss319111253, doi105710amegh261210131889, doi107717peerj857"
}

An assemblage of microfossils consisting of non-marine ostracods (Cypridopsis, Gomphocythere, Zonocypris, Eucypris, and Frambocythere), charophyte gyrogonites (Platychara), molluscs (Viviparus, Valvata, and Lymnaea), and fish remains (mainly Phareodus), is here reported from a new intertrappean locality near the town of Manawar, District Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, Central India. The biotic component recovered suggests a Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age for the intertrappean deposit near Manawar. Paleoenvironmentally, the overall biotic assemblage recovered indicates the presence of a freshwater palustrine/lacustrine depositional system connected to a low energy stream/river. Paleobiogeographically, the known high diversity of ostracod genera, especially Eucypris, Cypridopsis, and Gomphocythere, hints at endemism within the Indian Subcontinent during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). However, the cosmopolitan distribution of the charophyte genus Platychara in the K-Pg interval across the globe (Africa, Europe, and America) and its absence in the Upper Cretaceous of China and Mongolia is quite intriguing.

@article{doi1010800891296320181425408,
    author = "Kapur, Vivesh V. and Khosla, Ashu and Tiwari, Nandita",
    title = "Paleoenvironmental and paleobiogeographical implications of the microfossil assemblage from the Late Cretaceous intertrappean beds of the Manawar area, District Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, Central India",
    year = "2018",
    journal = "Historical Biology",
    abstract = "An assemblage of microfossils consisting of non-marine ostracods (Cypridopsis, Gomphocythere, Zonocypris, Eucypris, and Frambocythere), charophyte gyrogonites (Platychara), molluscs (Viviparus, Valvata, and Lymnaea), and fish remains (mainly Phareodus), is here reported from a new intertrappean locality near the town of Manawar, District Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, Central India. The biotic component recovered suggests a Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age for the intertrappean deposit near Manawar. Paleoenvironmentally, the overall biotic assemblage recovered indicates the presence of a freshwater palustrine/lacustrine depositional system connected to a low energy stream/river. Paleobiogeographically, the known high diversity of ostracod genera, especially Eucypris, Cypridopsis, and Gomphocythere, hints at endemism within the Indian Subcontinent during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). However, the cosmopolitan distribution of the charophyte genus Platychara in the K-Pg interval across the globe (Africa, Europe, and America) and its absence in the Upper Cretaceous of China and Mongolia is quite intriguing.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2018.1425408",
    doi = "10.1080/08912963.2018.1425408",
    openalex = "W2791620209",
    references = "doi101016jcrpv201701002, doi102478agp20140016"
}

, from the Maastrichtian of India. The incompleteness of the material precludes narrowing down its taxonomic attribution further than Tribosphenida, but it is larger than most coeval mammals and shows a thin layer of parallel crystallite enamel. The new taxon helps filling two major gaps in the fossil record: the paucity of Mesozoic mammals in more northern parts of South America and of tribosphenidans in the Cretaceous of that continent. In addition, high-precision U-Pb geochronology provided a post-Turonian maximal age (≤87.8 Ma) for the type stratum, which is overlain by the dinosaur-bearing Marília Formation, constraining the age of the Adamantina Formation at the site to late Coniacian-late Maastrichtian. This represents the first radioisotopic age for the Bauru Group, a key stratigraphic unit for the study of Cretaceous tetrapods in Gondwana.

@article{doi101098rsos180482,
    author = "Castro, Mariela C. and Goin, Francisco J. and Jaureguizar, Edgardo Ortiz and Vieytes, Emma Carolina and Tsukui, Kaori and Ramezani, Jahandar and Batezelli, Alessandro and Marsola, Júlio C. A. and Langer, Max C.",
    title = "A Late Cretaceous mammal from Brazil and the first radioisotopic age for the Bauru Group",
    year = "2018",
    journal = "Royal Society Open Science",
    abstract = ", from the Maastrichtian of India. The incompleteness of the material precludes narrowing down its taxonomic attribution further than Tribosphenida, but it is larger than most coeval mammals and shows a thin layer of parallel crystallite enamel. The new taxon helps filling two major gaps in the fossil record: the paucity of Mesozoic mammals in more northern parts of South America and of tribosphenidans in the Cretaceous of that continent. In addition, high-precision U-Pb geochronology provided a post-Turonian maximal age (≤87.8 Ma) for the type stratum, which is overlain by the dinosaur-bearing Marília Formation, constraining the age of the Adamantina Formation at the site to late Coniacian-late Maastrichtian. This represents the first radioisotopic age for the Bauru Group, a key stratigraphic unit for the study of Cretaceous tetrapods in Gondwana.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.180482",
    doi = "10.1098/rsos.180482",
    openalex = "W2807670744",
    references = "doi101016jcrpv201701002, doi101016jmarpetgeo201602027"
}

The Infra- and Intertrappean deposits have yielded diverse vertebrates, especially dinosaurs, mammals, snakes, turtles, crocodiles, and invertebrates. The biotic assemblages demonstrate a remarkable degree of resemblance between these deposits. The palaeobiogeographical affinities of the paleobiota are more intricate, yielding remains of Gondwanan and Laurasian affinities, and some endemic forms. In order to explain the presence of such a complex biota during the northward drift of the Indian plate (Late Cretaceous period), different palaeobiogeographical models have been proposed. Special emphasis has been given in this paper to the palaeobiogeographical implications of Indian Late Cretaceous dinosaurs. The size of the animal played an essential role in determining the nature of the biotic interchange between India and its nearby landmasses. The faunal exchange between India and Asia through the Kohistan Dras volcanic arc system has been considered as the superlative migratory route, which favoured the small fauna during trans-maritime dispersal. Conversely, it was difficult for small animals to cross huge marine boundaries, other than for the very large vertebrates (especially dinosaurs). Consequently, a straight terrestrial course, especially in the northern India, is a lesser probability, and the dispersal of these huge vertebrates ought to be seen as part of a ‘Pan Gondwanan’ model.

@article{doi1010800891296320191702657,
    author = "Khosla, Ashu",
    title = "Paleobiogeographical inferences of Indian Late Cretaceous vertebrates with special reference to dinosaurs",
    year = "2019",
    journal = "Historical Biology",
    abstract = "The Infra- and Intertrappean deposits have yielded diverse vertebrates, especially dinosaurs, mammals, snakes, turtles, crocodiles, and invertebrates. The biotic assemblages demonstrate a remarkable degree of resemblance between these deposits. The palaeobiogeographical affinities of the paleobiota are more intricate, yielding remains of Gondwanan and Laurasian affinities, and some endemic forms. In order to explain the presence of such a complex biota during the northward drift of the Indian plate (Late Cretaceous period), different palaeobiogeographical models have been proposed. Special emphasis has been given in this paper to the palaeobiogeographical implications of Indian Late Cretaceous dinosaurs. The size of the animal played an essential role in determining the nature of the biotic interchange between India and its nearby landmasses. The faunal exchange between India and Asia through the Kohistan Dras volcanic arc system has been considered as the superlative migratory route, which favoured the small fauna during trans-maritime dispersal. Conversely, it was difficult for small animals to cross huge marine boundaries, other than for the very large vertebrates (especially dinosaurs). Consequently, a straight terrestrial course, especially in the northern India, is a lesser probability, and the dispersal of these huge vertebrates ought to be seen as part of a ‘Pan Gondwanan’ model.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2019.1702657",
    doi = "10.1080/08912963.2019.1702657",
    openalex = "W2995961063",
    references = "doi101016jcrpv201701002, doi101038s41598019453069, doi102478agp20140016"
}

Titanosaurs were a globally distributed clade of Cretaceous sauropods. Historically regarded as a primarily Gondwanan radiation, there is a growing number of Eurasian taxa, with several putative titanosaurs contemporaneous with, or even pre-dating, the oldest known Southern Hemisphere remains. The early Late Cretaceous Jinhua Formation, in Zhejiang Province, China, has yielded two putative titanosaurs, Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis and Dongyangosaurus sinensis. Here, we provide a detailed re-description and diagnosis of Jiangshanosaurus, as well as new anatomical information on Dongyangosaurus. Previously, a 'derived' titanosaurian placement for Jiangshanosaurus was primarily based on the presence of procoelous anterior caudal centra. We show that this taxon had amphicoelous anterior-middle caudal centra. Its only titanosaurian synapomorphy is that the dorsal margins of the scapula and coracoid are approximately level with one another. Dongyangosaurus can clearly be differentiated from Jiangshanosaurus, and displays features that indicate a closer relationship to the titanosaur radiation. Revised scores for both taxa are incorporated into an expanded phylogenetic data matrix, comprising 124 taxa scored for 548 characters. Under equal weights parsimony, Jiangshanosaurus is recovered as a member of the non-titanosaurian East Asian somphospondylan clade Euhelopodidae, and Dongyangosaurus lies just outside of Titanosauria. However, when extended implied weighting is applied, both taxa are placed within Titanosauria. Most other 'middle' Cretaceous East Asian sauropods are probably non-titanosaurian somphospondylans, but at least Xianshanosaurus appears to belong to the titanosaur radiation. Our analyses also recover the Early Cretaceous European sauropod Normanniasaurus genceyi as a 'derived' titanosaur, clustering with Gondwanan taxa. These results provide further support for a widespread diversification of titanosaurs by at least the Early Cretaceous.

@article{doi101098rsos191057,
    author = "Mannion, Philip D. and Upchurch, Paul and Jin, Xingsheng and Zheng, Wenjie",
    title = "New information on the Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs of Zhejiang Province, China: impact on Laurasian titanosauriform phylogeny and biogeography",
    year = "2019",
    journal = "Royal Society Open Science",
    abstract = "Titanosaurs were a globally distributed clade of Cretaceous sauropods. Historically regarded as a primarily Gondwanan radiation, there is a growing number of Eurasian taxa, with several putative titanosaurs contemporaneous with, or even pre-dating, the oldest known Southern Hemisphere remains. The early Late Cretaceous Jinhua Formation, in Zhejiang Province, China, has yielded two putative titanosaurs, Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis and Dongyangosaurus sinensis. Here, we provide a detailed re-description and diagnosis of Jiangshanosaurus, as well as new anatomical information on Dongyangosaurus. Previously, a 'derived' titanosaurian placement for Jiangshanosaurus was primarily based on the presence of procoelous anterior caudal centra. We show that this taxon had amphicoelous anterior-middle caudal centra. Its only titanosaurian synapomorphy is that the dorsal margins of the scapula and coracoid are approximately level with one another. Dongyangosaurus can clearly be differentiated from Jiangshanosaurus, and displays features that indicate a closer relationship to the titanosaur radiation. Revised scores for both taxa are incorporated into an expanded phylogenetic data matrix, comprising 124 taxa scored for 548 characters. Under equal weights parsimony, Jiangshanosaurus is recovered as a member of the non-titanosaurian East Asian somphospondylan clade Euhelopodidae, and Dongyangosaurus lies just outside of Titanosauria. However, when extended implied weighting is applied, both taxa are placed within Titanosauria. Most other 'middle' Cretaceous East Asian sauropods are probably non-titanosaurian somphospondylans, but at least Xianshanosaurus appears to belong to the titanosaur radiation. Our analyses also recover the Early Cretaceous European sauropod Normanniasaurus genceyi as a 'derived' titanosaur, clustering with Gondwanan taxa. These results provide further support for a widespread diversification of titanosaurs by at least the Early Cretaceous.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191057",
    doi = "10.1098/rsos.191057",
    openalex = "W2970495169",
    references = "doi101016jcretres201603008, doi101016jgr201403014, doi101016jjsames201411008, doi101016jpalaeo201206008, doi101038srep34467, doi101080027246342012671204, doi101093zoolinneanzlx103, doi101093zoolinneanzly068, doi101098rspb20171219, doi101111brv12255, doi1011646zootaxa384811, doi101371journalpone0125819, doi103897zookeys4698439"
}

@incollection{doi10100797830305645441,
    author = "Khosla, Ashu and Lucas, Spencer G.",
    title = "Introduction of Indian Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Eggs and Eggshells of Peninsular India",
    year = "2020",
    booktitle = "Topics in geobiology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56454-4\_1",
    doi = "10.1007/978-3-030-56454-4\_1",
    openalex = "W3093808753",
    references = "doi102478agp20140016"
}

Abstract The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae is represented by two individuals from the Cenomanian–lower Turonian ‘upper’ Winton Formation of central Queensland, north-eastern Australia. The type specimen has been described in detail, whereas the referred specimen, which includes several elements not present in the type series (partial skull, atlas, axis and postaxial cervical vertebrae), has only been described briefly. Herein, we provide a comprehensive description of this referred specimen, including a thorough assessment of the external and internal anatomy of the braincase, and identify several new autapomorphies of D. matildae. Via an expanded data matrix consisting of 125 taxa scored for 552 characters, we recover a close, well-supported relationship between Diamantinasaurus and its contemporary, Savannasaurus elliottorum. Unlike previous iterations of this data matrix, under a parsimony framework we consistently recover Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus as early-diverging members of Titanosauria using both equal weighting and extended implied weighting, with the overall topology largely consistent between analyses. We erect a new clade, named Diamantinasauria herein, that also includes the contemporaneous Sarmientosaurus musacchioi from southern Argentina, which shares several cranial features with the referred Diamantinasaurus specimen. Thus, Diamantinasauria is represented in the mid-Cretaceous of both South America and Australia, supporting the hypothesis that some titanosaurians, in addition to megaraptoran theropods and possibly some ornithopods, were able to disperse between these two continents via Antarctica. Conversely, there is no evidence for rebbachisaurids in Australia, which might indicate that they were unable to expand into high latitudes before their extinction in the Cenomanian–Turonian. Likewise, there is no evidence for titanosaurs with procoelous caudal vertebrae in the mid-Cretaceous Australian record, despite scarce but compelling evidence for their presence in both Antarctica and New Zealand during the Campanian–Maastrichtian. These later titanosaurs presumably dispersed into these landmasses from South America before the Campanian (~85 Mya), when seafloor spreading between Zealandia and Australia commenced. Although Australian mid-Cretaceous dinosaur faunas appear to be cosmopolitan at higher taxonomic levels, closer affinities with South America at finer scales are becoming better supported for sauropods, theropods and ornithopods.

@article{doi101093zoolinneanzlaa173,
    author = "Poropat, Stephen F. and Kundrát, Martin and Mannion, Philip D. and Upchurch, Paul and Tischler, Travis R. and Elliott, David A.",
    title = "Second specimen of the Late Cretaceous Australian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae provides new anatomical information on the skull and neck of early titanosaurs",
    year = "2020",
    journal = "Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society",
    abstract = "Abstract The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae is represented by two individuals from the Cenomanian–lower Turonian ‘upper’ Winton Formation of central Queensland, north-eastern Australia. The type specimen has been described in detail, whereas the referred specimen, which includes several elements not present in the type series (partial skull, atlas, axis and postaxial cervical vertebrae), has only been described briefly. Herein, we provide a comprehensive description of this referred specimen, including a thorough assessment of the external and internal anatomy of the braincase, and identify several new autapomorphies of D. matildae. Via an expanded data matrix consisting of 125 taxa scored for 552 characters, we recover a close, well-supported relationship between Diamantinasaurus and its contemporary, Savannasaurus elliottorum. Unlike previous iterations of this data matrix, under a parsimony framework we consistently recover Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus as early-diverging members of Titanosauria using both equal weighting and extended implied weighting, with the overall topology largely consistent between analyses. We erect a new clade, named Diamantinasauria herein, that also includes the contemporaneous Sarmientosaurus musacchioi from southern Argentina, which shares several cranial features with the referred Diamantinasaurus specimen. Thus, Diamantinasauria is represented in the mid-Cretaceous of both South America and Australia, supporting the hypothesis that some titanosaurians, in addition to megaraptoran theropods and possibly some ornithopods, were able to disperse between these two continents via Antarctica. Conversely, there is no evidence for rebbachisaurids in Australia, which might indicate that they were unable to expand into high latitudes before their extinction in the Cenomanian–Turonian. Likewise, there is no evidence for titanosaurs with procoelous caudal vertebrae in the mid-Cretaceous Australian record, despite scarce but compelling evidence for their presence in both Antarctica and New Zealand during the Campanian–Maastrichtian. These later titanosaurs presumably dispersed into these landmasses from South America before the Campanian (\textasciitilde 85 Mya), when seafloor spreading between Zealandia and Australia commenced. Although Australian mid-Cretaceous dinosaur faunas appear to be cosmopolitan at higher taxonomic levels, closer affinities with South America at finer scales are becoming better supported for sauropods, theropods and ornithopods.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa173",
    doi = "10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa173",
    openalex = "W3124534006",
    references = "doi101016jgr201403014, doi101016jjsames2019102460, doi101038s41467018051281, doi101038s41598020576677, doi101038srep34467, doi101080027246342013776562, doi1010800272463420161269539, doi1010800311551820181453085, doi1010800891296320201793979, doi101093zoolinneanzlx103, doi101093zoolinneanzly068, doi1011646zootaxa370131, doi1011646zootaxa384811, doi101371journalpone0030060, doi101371journalpone0054991, doi101371journalpone0151661, doi1029920070860302, doi105710amegh261210131889, openalexw3015256845"
}

The complex palaeogeographic history of India involving a gradual transition from Gondwana to Laurasia with an intervening phase of prolonged physical isolation, and the biotic signatures of this complex history as preserved in India’s Mesozoic fossil record are of much current interest and continue to be debated. Seen in this context, the fossil record of dinosaurs from India provides a unique opportunity to study their diversity and palaeobiogeographic distribution in time and space. The Indian fossil record, as currently documented, is patchy and restricted mainly to three intervals of the Mesozoic era: Late Triassic, Early/Middle Jurassic and Late Cretaceous. The Late Triassic–Jurassic record, representing a Pangean setting, is known primarily from the Gondwana formations of Pranhita–Godavari (P–G) Valley in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, although sporadic Jurassic occurrences are also known from Kutch (Gujarat) and Rajasthan. The earliest Late Triassic dinosaur fauna of India comes from the rhynchosaur–dominated Lower Maleri Formation of Carnian age. Known from fragmentary and isolated specimens, the Late Triassic dinosaur fauna is currently represented by the sole species Alwalkeria maleriensis, which is possibly a basal saurischian with uncertain relationships. A slightly younger dinosaur fauna from the archosaur–dominated Upper Maleri Formation of late Norian–earliest Rhaetian age consists of a more diverse assemblage including the two named basal sauropodomorphs (Nambalia roychowdhurii and Jaklapallisaurus asymmetrica). In contrast to the Late Triassic, the Early Jurassic record of Indian dinosaurs described from the Upper Dharmaram and Lower Kota formations of P–G Valley, is far more abundant, diverse and based on more nearly complete material that is currently referred to four named taxa of stem sauropodomorphs or basal sauropods (Lamplughsaura dharmaramensis, Pradhania gracilis, Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis, Barapasaurus tagorei) plus an ornithischian (Ankylosauria). Kotasaurus, one of the earliest known sauropods, is more primitive than Barapasaurus and shared numerous plesiomorphic characteristics with prosauropods. Together, the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sauropods dinosaurs of India document the early radiation of this group. Amongst the other important records of Jurassic dinosaurs in India is the oldest known camarasauromorph sauropod whose identification is based on a metacarpal, a first pedal paw and a fibula from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) strata of Khadir Island, Kutch. Fragmentary postcranial skeletal material of an unidentified Middle Jurassic dinosaurs is also known from Kuar Bet (Patcham Island) in the Rann of Kutch and the Jumara area of Kutch Mainland. Post–Gondwana, the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of India occur in a different geodynamic setting in which the Indian Plate, as traditionally considered, was a northward drifting island continent in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Apart from the solitary record of a Cenomanian–Turonian sauropod from Nimar Sandstone, Cretaceous dinosaurs from India are documented mainly by skeletal remains and eggs/eggshells from the Maastrichtian infratrappean (=Lameta Formation) and intertrappean deposits in the Deccan Volcanic Province of eastern, western and central peninsular India, and from broadly coeval Kallamedu Formation of Cauvery Basin, southern India. Skeletal remains of the Lameta dinosaurs belong to two major groups, titanosaur sauropods and abelisaurid theropods, plus a possible ankylosaur, whereas the Cauvery records include fragmentary titanosaur bones and a solitary tooth of a troodontid theropod. Apart from bones and teeth, a number of dinosaur egg–bearing nesting sites are also known to occur in the Lameta Formation of east–central and western India, extending for more than 1,000 km across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Close phylogenetic relations of the Lameta titanosaurs and theropods with corresponding taxa from the Maastrichtian of Madagascar (Vahiny, Majungasaurus) and the rare occurrence of Laurasian elements such as a troodontid, pose interesting palaeobiogeographic problems in the context of India’s supposed oceanic isolation, especially after its separation from Madagascar at ~ 88 Ma.

@article{doi1054991jop202115,
    author = "Khosla, Ashu and Bajpai, Sunil",
    title = "Dinosaur fossil records from India and their palaeobiogeographic implications: an overview",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Journal of Palaeosciences",
    abstract = "The complex palaeogeographic history of India involving a gradual transition from Gondwana to Laurasia with an intervening phase of prolonged physical isolation, and the biotic signatures of this complex history as preserved in India’s Mesozoic fossil record are of much current interest and continue to be debated. Seen in this context, the fossil record of dinosaurs from India provides a unique opportunity to study their diversity and palaeobiogeographic distribution in time and space. The Indian fossil record, as currently documented, is patchy and restricted mainly to three intervals of the Mesozoic era: Late Triassic, Early/Middle Jurassic and Late Cretaceous. The Late Triassic–Jurassic record, representing a Pangean setting, is known primarily from the Gondwana formations of Pranhita–Godavari (P–G) Valley in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, although sporadic Jurassic occurrences are also known from Kutch (Gujarat) and Rajasthan. The earliest Late Triassic dinosaur fauna of India comes from the rhynchosaur–dominated Lower Maleri Formation of Carnian age. Known from fragmentary and isolated specimens, the Late Triassic dinosaur fauna is currently represented by the sole species Alwalkeria maleriensis, which is possibly a basal saurischian with uncertain relationships. A slightly younger dinosaur fauna from the archosaur–dominated Upper Maleri Formation of late Norian–earliest Rhaetian age consists of a more diverse assemblage including the two named basal sauropodomorphs (Nambalia roychowdhurii and Jaklapallisaurus asymmetrica). In contrast to the Late Triassic, the Early Jurassic record of Indian dinosaurs described from the Upper Dharmaram and Lower Kota formations of P–G Valley, is far more abundant, diverse and based on more nearly complete material that is currently referred to four named taxa of stem sauropodomorphs or basal sauropods (Lamplughsaura dharmaramensis, Pradhania gracilis, Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis, Barapasaurus tagorei) plus an ornithischian (Ankylosauria). Kotasaurus, one of the earliest known sauropods, is more primitive than Barapasaurus and shared numerous plesiomorphic characteristics with prosauropods. Together, the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sauropods dinosaurs of India document the early radiation of this group. Amongst the other important records of Jurassic dinosaurs in India is the oldest known camarasauromorph sauropod whose identification is based on a metacarpal, a first pedal paw and a fibula from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) strata of Khadir Island, Kutch. Fragmentary postcranial skeletal material of an unidentified Middle Jurassic dinosaurs is also known from Kuar Bet (Patcham Island) in the Rann of Kutch and the Jumara area of Kutch Mainland. Post–Gondwana, the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of India occur in a different geodynamic setting in which the Indian Plate, as traditionally considered, was a northward drifting island continent in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Apart from the solitary record of a Cenomanian–Turonian sauropod from Nimar Sandstone, Cretaceous dinosaurs from India are documented mainly by skeletal remains and eggs/eggshells from the Maastrichtian infratrappean (=Lameta Formation) and intertrappean deposits in the Deccan Volcanic Province of eastern, western and central peninsular India, and from broadly coeval Kallamedu Formation of Cauvery Basin, southern India. Skeletal remains of the Lameta dinosaurs belong to two major groups, titanosaur sauropods and abelisaurid theropods, plus a possible ankylosaur, whereas the Cauvery records include fragmentary titanosaur bones and a solitary tooth of a troodontid theropod. Apart from bones and teeth, a number of dinosaur egg–bearing nesting sites are also known to occur in the Lameta Formation of east–central and western India, extending for more than 1,000 km across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Close phylogenetic relations of the Lameta titanosaurs and theropods with corresponding taxa from the Maastrichtian of Madagascar (Vahiny, Majungasaurus) and the rare occurrence of Laurasian elements such as a troodontid, pose interesting palaeobiogeographic problems in the context of India’s supposed oceanic isolation, especially after its separation from Madagascar at \textasciitilde\ 88 Ma.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.54991/jop.2021.15",
    doi = "10.54991/jop.2021.15",
    openalex = "W4297821213",
    references = "doi101017s1477201907002246, doi1010292008jb005644, doi101098rstb19950125, doi101126science1118806, doi101126science28053661048, doi101126scienceaaa0118, doi101525california97805202420980030015, doi1016710272463420020220510toomka20co2, doi1023073889325, nesbitt2009a"
}

The Jhilmili intertrappean beds (Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh) of Central India are studied from a palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological, and palaeobiogeographical perspective using fossil charophytes. These beds have yielded a diverse charophyte assemblage, consisting of Platychara perlata, Platychara raoi, Platychara sahnii, Peckichara cf. varians, Nemegtichara cf. grambasti, and Chara sp. 1. These charophytes were recovered from a 60 cm thick clayey and nodular limestone unit that is underlain by claystone and overlain by laminated claystones deposited on fluvial floodplains. This charophyte assemblage suggests a Late Cretaceous–Early Danian age, which agrees with the previous dating carried out using freshwater to brackish water ostracods and planktic foraminifera found in the same beds, together with dasycladalean and halimedacean chlorophytes. The Jhilmili intertrappean charophyte assemblage resembles those found in other infra‐and intertrappean sections of western, central, and southern India. The charophyte assemblage indicates that during the Cretaceous–Palaeogene timespan the Indian subcontinent mainly experienced interchange with Laurasia (China, Europe, and North America) but also with Gondwana (North Africa and South America). In the opposite sense, Laurasian species might have dispersed to India by means of a sweepstakes route across the Kohistan–Dras volcanic arcs.

@article{doi101002gj4528,
    author = "Khosla, Ashu and Kania, Sachin and Lucas, Spencer G. and Verma, Omkar",
    title = "Charophytes from the Cretaceous–Palaeogene transition in the Jhilmili intertrappean beds of Central India",
    year = "2022",
    journal = "Geological Journal",
    abstract = "The Jhilmili intertrappean beds (Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh) of Central India are studied from a palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological, and palaeobiogeographical perspective using fossil charophytes. These beds have yielded a diverse charophyte assemblage, consisting of Platychara perlata, Platychara raoi, Platychara sahnii, Peckichara cf. varians, Nemegtichara cf. grambasti, and Chara sp. 1. These charophytes were recovered from a 60 cm thick clayey and nodular limestone unit that is underlain by claystone and overlain by laminated claystones deposited on fluvial floodplains. This charophyte assemblage suggests a Late Cretaceous–Early Danian age, which agrees with the previous dating carried out using freshwater to brackish water ostracods and planktic foraminifera found in the same beds, together with dasycladalean and halimedacean chlorophytes. The Jhilmili intertrappean charophyte assemblage resembles those found in other infra‐and intertrappean sections of western, central, and southern India. The charophyte assemblage indicates that during the Cretaceous–Palaeogene timespan the Indian subcontinent mainly experienced interchange with Laurasia (China, Europe, and North America) but also with Gondwana (North Africa and South America). In the opposite sense, Laurasian species might have dispersed to India by means of a sweepstakes route across the Kohistan–Dras volcanic arcs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.4528",
    doi = "10.1002/gj.4528",
    openalex = "W4288074766",
    references = "doi102478agp20140016"
}

The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (early-middle Bathonian) strata of Jaisalmer Basin, western India. Known from elements of the axial skeleton, the new taxon is phylogenetically among the earlier-diverging dicraeosaurids, and its stratigraphic age makes it the earliest known diplodocoid globally. Palaeobiogeographic considerations of Tharosaurus, seen in conjunction with the other Indian Jurassic sauropods, suggest that the new Indian taxon is a relic of a lineage that originated in India and underwent rapid dispersal across the rest of Pangaea. Here we emphasize the importance of Gondwanan India in tracing the origin and early evolutionary history of neosauropod dinosaurs.

@article{doi101038s41598023397592,
    author = "Bajpai, Sunil and Datta, Debajit and Pandey, Pragya and Ghosh, Triparna and Kumar, Krishna and Bhattacharya, Debasish",
    title = "Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation",
    year = "2023",
    journal = "Scientific Reports",
    abstract = "The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (early-middle Bathonian) strata of Jaisalmer Basin, western India. Known from elements of the axial skeleton, the new taxon is phylogenetically among the earlier-diverging dicraeosaurids, and its stratigraphic age makes it the earliest known diplodocoid globally. Palaeobiogeographic considerations of Tharosaurus, seen in conjunction with the other Indian Jurassic sauropods, suggest that the new Indian taxon is a relic of a lineage that originated in India and underwent rapid dispersal across the rest of Pangaea. Here we emphasize the importance of Gondwanan India in tracing the origin and early evolutionary history of neosauropod dinosaurs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2",
    doi = "10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2",
    openalex = "W4385575661",
    references = "doi101017s1477201908002691, doi101046j10963642200200029x, doi10108002724634199910011178, doi101098rstb19950125, doi101111cla12524, doi101111j10963642201000665x, doi101371journalpone0017114, doi101525california97805202420980030015, doi1023073889325, doi1054991jop202115, doi107717peerj857"
}

The Indian Mesozoic dinosaur record is famous for documenting significant aspects of dinosaur evolution during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The Cenomanian–Turonian Nimar Sandstone, Lower Narmada valley, has produced fragmentary skeletal remains of Sauropoda indet. The Maastrichtian Lameta Formation has yielded at least 6 valid sauropod taxa and indeterminate titanosaurid remains, and at least 11 named (but likely oversplit) theropod taxa, i.e., 3 smaller-bodied species and 8 medium-to-large sized theropods. Apart from skeletal remains, Infra- and Intertrappean beds of peninsular India have yielded more than 10,000 dinosaur eggs belonging to 5 oofamilies and 15 oospecies. Most of the Indian ootaxa show distinct affinities with the Late Cretaceous ootaxa of four other continental areas – Spain, France, Argentina and Morocco. The presence of the two dominant oofamilies, Fusioolithidae and Megaloolithidae, in the Infra- and Intertrappean localities of peninsular India and three different continents (South America, Europe and Africa) further shows an ancient Gondwanan affinity and basic terrestrial association among these three landmasses. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of skeletal material, the most plausible pathway of dinosaur dispersal between India and Madagascar took place during the Late Cretaceous. The other conceivable dispersal pathway for the small animals was between India and Asia by means of the Kohistan Dras Volcanic Arc or a northeast pathway through Somalia, while the very large vertebrates, like theropod dinosaurs, may have emerged as a component of a ‘Pan Gondwanan’ model.

@article{doi1024425agp2023145623,
    author = "Khosla, Ashu and Lucas, Spencer G.",
    title = "Review of the Cretaceous dinosaurs from India and their paleobiogeographic significance",
    year = "2023",
    journal = "Acta Geologica Polonica",
    abstract = "The Indian Mesozoic dinosaur record is famous for documenting significant aspects of dinosaur evolution during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The Cenomanian–Turonian Nimar Sandstone, Lower Narmada valley, has produced fragmentary skeletal remains of Sauropoda indet. The Maastrichtian Lameta Formation has yielded at least 6 valid sauropod taxa and indeterminate titanosaurid remains, and at least 11 named (but likely oversplit) theropod taxa, i.e., 3 smaller-bodied species and 8 medium-to-large sized theropods. Apart from skeletal remains, Infra- and Intertrappean beds of peninsular India have yielded more than 10,000 dinosaur eggs belonging to 5 oofamilies and 15 oospecies. Most of the Indian ootaxa show distinct affinities with the Late Cretaceous ootaxa of four other continental areas – Spain, France, Argentina and Morocco. The presence of the two dominant oofamilies, Fusioolithidae and Megaloolithidae, in the Infra- and Intertrappean localities of peninsular India and three different continents (South America, Europe and Africa) further shows an ancient Gondwanan affinity and basic terrestrial association among these three landmasses. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of skeletal material, the most plausible pathway of dinosaur dispersal between India and Madagascar took place during the Late Cretaceous. The other conceivable dispersal pathway for the small animals was between India and Asia by means of the Kohistan Dras Volcanic Arc or a northeast pathway through Somalia, while the very large vertebrates, like theropod dinosaurs, may have emerged as a component of a ‘Pan Gondwanan’ model.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.24425/agp.2023.145623",
    doi = "10.24425/agp.2023.145623",
    openalex = "W4386832078",
    references = "doi101016jearscirev200801007, doi101016jgr201207001, doi1010292008jb005644, doi101046j10963642200200029x, doi101098rspb20042692, doi101126science1230492, doi101126science2675199852, doi101126science28053661048, doi101126scienceaaa0118, doi1054991jop202115, doi105962p226819"
}

Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, ~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of ~ 11-15 m makes this new taxon (Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at ~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, Vasuki forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon Madtsoia pisdurensis and the North African Late Eocene Gigantophis garstini. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that Vasuki represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at ~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.

@article{doi101038s41598024583770,
    author = "Datta, Debajit and Bajpai, Sunil",
    title = "Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal",
    year = "2024",
    journal = "Scientific Reports",
    abstract = "Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, \textasciitilde\ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of \textasciitilde\ 11-15 m makes this new taxon (Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at \textasciitilde\ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, Vasuki forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon Madtsoia pisdurensis and the North African Late Eocene Gigantophis garstini. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that Vasuki represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at \textasciitilde\ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58377-0",
    doi = "10.1038/s41598-024-58377-0",
    openalex = "W4394912998",
    references = "doi1010179781108938891, doi101038s41598023397592"
}

The past location of the Burma Terrane during the convergence of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates is key to unravelling the regional geodynamic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeobiogeographical history of the eastern edge of the Himalayan orogen. Palaeomagnetic data provide the ability to constrain the location of the Burma Terrane, but it has been very difficult to find rocks with palaeomagnetic records of primary characteristic remanent magnetizations. We present here new palaeomagnetic results spanning the Paleocene to late middle Eocene within the Burma Terrane, complementing palaeolatitudes previously established from Late Cretaceous intrusive rocks and late middle Eocene sedimentary rocks. Our palaeomagnetic data indicate that the Burma Terrane remained at equatorial latitudes during the Paleocene and early Eocene, at a considerable distance from the South Asian margin. In addition, palaeomagnetic results from mid- to late Eocene sedimentary rocks yield a predominantly north–south orientation of the Burma Terrane over the past 45 Myr, showing that it was not part of the NW–SE-oriented Sundaland margin before its collision with India. Our results support collision models involving a Trans-Tethyan subduction system during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. We propose that this system incorporated the Burmese volcanic arc and continental fragments of Argoland before drifting north with India towards Asia. The new palaeogeographical model considers a reduced amount of oblique subduction of the Indian plate below Burma during the Cenozoic. A possible source of sediments filling the thick Myanmar basins from the Gangdese belt during the Eocene supports the hypothesis of an India–Asia collision around ∼50 Ma. The new palaeogeography supporting the formation of the Myanmar Cretaceous amber on an isolated Trans-Tethyan Arc is also a key element in discussions of the palaeobiogeographical evolution of the numerous faunas it contains.

@article{doi101144sp549202418,
    author = "Westerweel, Jan and Roperch, Pierrick and Win, Zaw and Dupont‐Nivet, Guillaume",
    title = "Northward drift of the Burma Terrane with India during the Cenozoic and implications for the India–Asia collision",
    year = "2024",
    journal = "Geological Society London Special Publications",
    abstract = "The past location of the Burma Terrane during the convergence of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates is key to unravelling the regional geodynamic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeobiogeographical history of the eastern edge of the Himalayan orogen. Palaeomagnetic data provide the ability to constrain the location of the Burma Terrane, but it has been very difficult to find rocks with palaeomagnetic records of primary characteristic remanent magnetizations. We present here new palaeomagnetic results spanning the Paleocene to late middle Eocene within the Burma Terrane, complementing palaeolatitudes previously established from Late Cretaceous intrusive rocks and late middle Eocene sedimentary rocks. Our palaeomagnetic data indicate that the Burma Terrane remained at equatorial latitudes during the Paleocene and early Eocene, at a considerable distance from the South Asian margin. In addition, palaeomagnetic results from mid- to late Eocene sedimentary rocks yield a predominantly north–south orientation of the Burma Terrane over the past 45 Myr, showing that it was not part of the NW–SE-oriented Sundaland margin before its collision with India. Our results support collision models involving a Trans-Tethyan subduction system during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. We propose that this system incorporated the Burmese volcanic arc and continental fragments of Argoland before drifting north with India towards Asia. The new palaeogeographical model considers a reduced amount of oblique subduction of the Indian plate below Burma during the Cenozoic. A possible source of sediments filling the thick Myanmar basins from the Gangdese belt during the Eocene supports the hypothesis of an India–Asia collision around ∼50 Ma. The new palaeogeography supporting the formation of the Myanmar Cretaceous amber on an isolated Trans-Tethyan Arc is also a key element in discussions of the palaeobiogeographical evolution of the numerous faunas it contains.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1144/sp549-2024-18",
    doi = "10.1144/sp549-2024-18",
    openalex = "W4400002383",
    references = "doi101016jrevpalbo2021104441, doi101126scienceabk2177"
}

The paper discusses the status of the subject of vertebrate paleontology after the Independence of India in 1947. Paleontology enjoyed success in India during the 1950s and 1960s as there was gainful employment for foraminiferal stratigraphy in the Petroleum Industry. As institutions with special thrust areas such as Geophysics, Geomagnetism, Himalayan Geology, Ocean Sciences multiplied in time, paleontology became ignored or neglected as a professional option. In the 1980s, an opportunity arose for vertebrate paleontology to become integrated with other geoscience subjects in India. It contributed initially in providing a timing for the India-Asia collision, for the age of the Deccan Volcanics and also for documenting the fauna and its affinities during India's northward journey from Madagascar to its final collision with Asia. The discovery of dinosaurs along with Cretaceous eggs and nests, the evolution of whales, the find of Eocene primates, lagomorphs, and the endemic form Cambaytherium and its bearing on horse evolution have radically helped in changing older concepts regarding origin, endemism, and relationships of taxa in a geodynamic context. New material from the Middle Eocene of the Kalakot area provides a more complete picture of the evolution of whales, faunal diversity, and environmental conditions of the assemblage that migrated into India during the collision process. Today, discoveries of fossil vertebrates attract interest from academia, the general public particularly the younger population and the Indian media.

@article{doi101002ar70121,
    author = "Sahni, Ashok",
    title = "The rise of vertebrate paleontology in post‐independence India: A personal perspective",
    year = "2025",
    journal = "The Anatomical Record",
    abstract = "The paper discusses the status of the subject of vertebrate paleontology after the Independence of India in 1947. Paleontology enjoyed success in India during the 1950s and 1960s as there was gainful employment for foraminiferal stratigraphy in the Petroleum Industry. As institutions with special thrust areas such as Geophysics, Geomagnetism, Himalayan Geology, Ocean Sciences multiplied in time, paleontology became ignored or neglected as a professional option. In the 1980s, an opportunity arose for vertebrate paleontology to become integrated with other geoscience subjects in India. It contributed initially in providing a timing for the India-Asia collision, for the age of the Deccan Volcanics and also for documenting the fauna and its affinities during India's northward journey from Madagascar to its final collision with Asia. The discovery of dinosaurs along with Cretaceous eggs and nests, the evolution of whales, the find of Eocene primates, lagomorphs, and the endemic form Cambaytherium and its bearing on horse evolution have radically helped in changing older concepts regarding origin, endemism, and relationships of taxa in a geodynamic context. New material from the Middle Eocene of the Kalakot area provides a more complete picture of the evolution of whales, faunal diversity, and environmental conditions of the assemblage that migrated into India during the collision process. Today, discoveries of fossil vertebrates attract interest from academia, the general public particularly the younger population and the Indian media.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70121",
    doi = "10.1002/ar.70121",
    openalex = "W4417501668",
    references = "doi101016jgsf201605001, doi101038nature06343, doi101038ncomms1482, doi101038ncomms6570, doi101073pnas1108723108, doi101126science1118806, doi101126science1894201419, doi1011770971102320050205, doi101371journalpbio1000322, doi1023071005467"
}

Some of the oldest known dinosaurs and the first faunas numerically dominated by them are documented in the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic-aged Gondwana formations exposed in the Pranhita-Godavari Valley of south-central and east-central India. The Upper Maleri Formation of the Pranhita-Godavari Basin preserves an early-middle Norian dinosaur assemblage numerically dominated by sauropodomorph dinosaurs, including at least two nominal species. However, the preliminary report of a herrerasaurian dinosaur specimen indicates that this assemblage of south-central Gondwana was more taxonomically diverse. Here, we describe and compare in detail the anatomy and assess the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the Upper Maleri herrerasaurian specimen. A unique combination of character states present in this specimen allows the erection of the new genus and species Maleriraptor kuttyi. Updated quantitative phylogenetic analyses focused on early dinosauriforms recovered Maleriraptor kuttyi as a member of Herrerasauria outside of the South American clade Herrerasauridae. Maleriraptor kuttyi fills a temporal gap between the Carnian South American herrerasaurids and the younger middle Norian-Rhaetian herrerasaurs of North America. Maleriraptor kuttyi shows the first evidence that herrerasaurs survived also in Gondwana the early Norian tetrapod turnover that resulted in the global extinction of the rhynchosaurs.

@article{doi101098rsos250081,
    author = "Ezcurra, Martín D. and Garcia, Maurício Silva and Novas, Fernando E. and Müller, Rodrigo Temp and Agnolín, Federico L. and Chatterjee, Sankar",
    title = "A new herrerasaurian dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri Formation of south-central India",
    year = "2025",
    journal = "Royal Society Open Science",
    abstract = "Some of the oldest known dinosaurs and the first faunas numerically dominated by them are documented in the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic-aged Gondwana formations exposed in the Pranhita-Godavari Valley of south-central and east-central India. The Upper Maleri Formation of the Pranhita-Godavari Basin preserves an early-middle Norian dinosaur assemblage numerically dominated by sauropodomorph dinosaurs, including at least two nominal species. However, the preliminary report of a herrerasaurian dinosaur specimen indicates that this assemblage of south-central Gondwana was more taxonomically diverse. Here, we describe and compare in detail the anatomy and assess the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the Upper Maleri herrerasaurian specimen. A unique combination of character states present in this specimen allows the erection of the new genus and species Maleriraptor kuttyi. Updated quantitative phylogenetic analyses focused on early dinosauriforms recovered Maleriraptor kuttyi as a member of Herrerasauria outside of the South American clade Herrerasauridae. Maleriraptor kuttyi fills a temporal gap between the Carnian South American herrerasaurids and the younger middle Norian-Rhaetian herrerasaurs of North America. Maleriraptor kuttyi shows the first evidence that herrerasaurs survived also in Gondwana the early Norian tetrapod turnover that resulted in the global extinction of the rhynchosaurs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250081",
    doi = "10.1098/rsos.250081",
    openalex = "W4410176241",
    references = "doi101016jjsames2021103341, doi101038s4158602205133x, doi101038s41598020678541, doi1010800891296320242336992, doi101093zoolinneanzlaa080, doi101098rsos210915, doi101111cla12581, doi101111pala12514, doi104202app001432014, doi105710amgh040820173100"
}