Oldest fossil avian remains from the Indian subcontinental plate

Abstract

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