A new Symmetrodont mammal from the lower Jurassic Kota Formation, Pranhita-Godavari valley, India

Abstract

A new right upper molar (Kotatherium yadagirii nov. sp., Order Symmetrodonta) has been discovered in the mammalian fauna of the Lower Jurassic Kota Formation, India, which differs in its overall morphology from the previously described Kotatherium haldanei Datta, 1981. The new taxon exhibits a crown morphology that is characteristic of the symmetrodont family Tinodontidae, but appears to have advanced over that of Kuehneotherium. Although Kotatherium yadagirii shares a few derived characters, such as absence of lingual cingulum and parastyle-metastyle interlock, with Tinodon, it is more derived than the latter in its posterior crown morphology. Furthermore, it has been shown that Indotherium pranhitai Yadagiri, 1984, described from the kota Formation as a symmetrodont, is indistinguishable from the lower molars of morganucodontids. The present study indicated considerable diversity in the Jurassic mammals of India.