2015): Craniodental and postcranial morphology of Indohyaenodon raoi from the early Eocene of India, and its implications for ecology, phylogeny, and biogeography of hyaenodontid mammals, Journal of Vertebrate PaleontologyTo link to this article: http://dx.ABSTRACT-New remains of the early Eocene hyaenodontid Indohyaenodon raoi are described from the Vastan Lignite Mine in Gujarat, western India, including the first known rostrum, upper dentition, and postcrania, substantially expanding our knowledge of the species and providing insights into its functional morphology and relationships. Craniodental morphology suggests that I. raoi had a broad diet, including non-vertebrate material as well as flesh of a diversity of prey species. Postcranial morphology is broadly similar to that of other early hyaenodontids and suggests a scansorial locomotor repertoire. Dental morphology indicates that I. raoi is closely related to other South Asian hyaenodontids, with shared features including strong cingula, narrow premolars, and a reduced P4 protocone. We present the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Hyaenodontidae to date, which corroborates this relationship but finds South Asian hyaenodontids to be the stem of a group that includes most African hyaenodontids. This and other higher-level relationships within Hyaenodontidae are, however, weakly supported, and substantially different alternative hypotheses of relationships are not significantly less parsimonious, reflecting strong character conflict. Factors contributing to this conflict include the isolation of hyaenodontid faunas on different continents during much of the Eocene, canalization and simplification of carnivorous dentitions, and a lack of non-dental material for critical hyaenodontid groups. The new phylogeny is consistent with either an African or an Asian origin for the group.

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The geographic origin of bats is still unknown, and fossils of earliest bats are rare and poorly diversified, with,

We report the oldest known record of Lagomorpha, based on distinctive, small ankle bones (calcaneus and talus) from Early Eocene deposits (Middle Ypresian equivalent, ca 53 Myr ago) of Gujarat, west-central India. The fossils predate the oldest previously known crown lagomorphs by several million years and extend the record of lagomorphs on the Indian subcontinent by 35 Myr. The bones show a mosaic of derived cursorial adaptations found in gracile Leporidae (rabbits and hares) and primitive traits characteristic of extant Ochotonidae (pikas) and more robust leporids. Together with gracile and robust calcanei from the Middle Eocene of Shanghuang, China, also reported here, the Indian fossils suggest that diversification within crown Lagomorpha and possibly divergence of the family Leporidae were already underway in the Early Eocene.

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Present review highlights the role of fungi in biodegradation/decolourization of textile dyes and effluents. Though, fungi and bacteria both are the principal decomposer of xenobiotics in the environment but fungi are superior to bacteria in dyes degradation/decolourization due to their superiority in the production of dyes degrading enzymes and as absorbent. The present study focused on the achievements and advancement on the fungal degradation/decolourization of textiles dyes and effluents by the application of potent fungal strains. The biodegradation through fungi or myco-remediation of textile dyes and effluents using potential fungi is comparatively cheap and environmentally safe process, to decompose or mineralize the hardly or less degrading compounds of synthetic dyes. Fungi play an important role to degrade/decolourize the synthetic dyes through enzymes as well as by the absorption, adsorption and accumulation of colourants from the effluents.