New insectivorous placentals from the Eocene of Pakistan

Abstract

We report the discovery of two lower molars of small placental mammals from the late early/middle Eocene Kuldana Formation of the Kala Chitta Hills, Punjab, Pakistan. The first of these is tribosphenic, but lacks an entoconid. We name it Perizalambdodon punjabiensis and suggest that it may be related to the tenrecoid radiation of Africa. A second partial lower molar of a small tribosphenic placental is too incomplete to be identified to the family level. However, it does not pertain to any described taxon from Indo-Pakistan. Together with recent finds in the early Eocene of India, these teeth suggest that the diversity of the small insectivorous placentals from Indo-Pakistan was significant, and that much of this fauna remains to be discovered.