The Indian gondwanatherian mammal

[K and T Dykes <ktdykes@arcor.de>]

Lovers of the weird and wonderful (not to say baffling and poorly known)
gondwanatherian mamals will be delighted to hear of the successful delivery
of a new sudamericid.  Named in honour of Bharat, a Sanskrit name for India,
and the usual Greek for beast, /Bharattherium/ is the smallest
gondwanatherian found so far.  It's specific name, /bonapartei/, honurs the
emperor of South America vertebrate paleontology, Dr Jose Bonaparte.  This
new genus from the Deccan intertrappean beds of Kisalpuri, Madhya Pradesh
and Naskal, Andhra Pradesh, is presently known only from two cheek teeth.

Prasad GR, Verma O, Sahni A, Krause DW, Khola A & Parmar V (2007), A new
Late Cretaceous Gondwanatherian mammal from Central India, Proc. Indian
Natu. Sci. Acad. 73 No.1, p.17-24.

Abstract (I'm having to type this out rather than copy it in, so watch out
for typing mysteaks.  My customised German spellchecker has its
limitations.):

<<A new gondwanatherian mammal cheek tooth recovered from the Upper
Cretaceous Deccan intertrappean beds of Kisalpuri, Dinodori District in
Nadhya Pradesh (state), central India is described here.  The new tooth
(VPL/JU/IM/33), along with a previously described tooth (VPL/JU/NKIM/25), is
placed in /Bharattherium bonapartei/ gen. et sp. nov.  The
palaeobigogeographic implications and functional aspects of gondwanatherian
mammals are discussed in light of the discovery of this new taxon.>>