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A first possible chameleon from the late Miocene of India (the hominoid site of Haritalyangar): a tentative evidence for an Asian dispersal of chameleons

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Abstract

Miocene rare fossils from India, tentatively attributed to chameleons, are described for the first time. The material consists of a fragment of the left squamosal and an element interpreted as a posterodorsal process of the parietal. The specimens come from a late Miocene site of the Nagri Formation (Middle Siwaliks, ~ 9 Mya) at Haritalyangar, North India. This material presents a possible evidence for a chameleon dispersal to Asia. Based on molecular data, the dispersion of an Asian chamaeleonid lineage from Africa to Arabia/Asia is dated at approximately 13 Mya and its diversification in situ at around 6–8 Mya. However, till now, no Miocene-age fossil record has been described to support crown chamaeleonid presence in this area. The material described herein is very fragmented. If correctly allocated, the Haritalyangar chameleons show the oldest known occurrence of this clade in India, at least approximately 9 Mya ago.

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Acknowledgments

The work of A. R. S. is self-sponsored, and it was performed by the first author in 2012 under the platform of the Palaeo Research Society, assisted by S.L. Sharma, an amateur fossil collector. He acknowledges the suggestions of Dr. Rajeev Patnaik of the ACG, Panjab University, Chandigarh. We also thank M. Hyžný (Comenius University in Bratislava) for his advice about decapods. For critical reading of the manuscript, we are indepted to J.-C. Rage (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle), K. T. Smith (Senckenberg Research Institute in FFM), and two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anthropological Survey of India at Dehra Dun, 248195, Dehra Dun, India

    Anek R. Sankhyan

  2. Palaeo Research Society, Ghumarwin, HP, 174021, India

    Anek R. Sankhyan

  3. Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Ecology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Andrej Čerňanský

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  1. Anek R. Sankhyan
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Correspondence to Andrej Čerňanský.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Sankhyan, A.R., Čerňanský, A. A first possible chameleon from the late Miocene of India (the hominoid site of Haritalyangar): a tentative evidence for an Asian dispersal of chameleons. Sci Nat 103, 94 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-016-1419-3

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