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first postcranial material definitively attributableto the extinct family Balbaridae. Functionaladaptiveanalysis (including comparisons withmodern taxa) of the hindlimb and pedal elementssuggests consistent use of quadrupedal progressionrather than true hopping. Robust forelimbsand an opposable first pedal digit (lost in mostmacropodoids) might also indicate limitedclimbing ability. Cladistic analysis of 104 discretecranio-dental and postcranial characterscoded for 25 ingroup and one outgroup taxonplaces N. gillespieae in a plesiomorphic sisterclade (also containing other Balbarids and thepropleopine Ekaltadeta ima) to all other macropodoids.This result supports recent revisions tothe classification of kangaroos, which recognizeBalbaridae as the most basal macropodoid family-leveltaxon.2008040473印 度 上 希 瓦 利 克 哺 乳 动 物 群 和 共 生 的 事 件 =Upper Siwalik mammalian faunas of India andassociated events. ( 英 文 ). Nanda A C. Journalof Asian Earth Sciences, 2003, 21(1): 47-58Tatrot and Pinjor mammalian faunas are wellknown from the Chandigarh and Jammu regionsof India. The Pinjor Formation of the type areain the Chandigarh region has been dated bymagnetostratigraphy and ranges from 2.48 to0.63 Ma. The pre-Pinjor beds of the Upper SiwalikSubgroup are referred to as the SaketiFormation and are characterized by the presenceof the Tatrot Fauna. These are well exposed inthe type area of the Pinjor Formation. The PinjorMammalian Fauna marks the end of the recordof the Siwalik vertebrate faunal succession sincethe overlying Boulder Conglomerate Formation,the youngest formation of the Siwalik Group, isdevoid of fossils. About 49 mammalian taxa arerestricted to the Pinjor Formation. The Saketibeds are differentiated from the Pinjor beds by30 Tatrot taxa. In the Jammu region, the NagrotaFormation of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup containsboth the Tatrot and Pinjor faunas; howeverboth faunas are not as well developed as comparedto those of the Chandigarh region. Theextinction or migration of the Pinjor MammalianFauna began near the Olduvai subchron (i.e. nearNeogene\Quaternary boundary). However, in theParmandal-Utterbeni (Jammu) and Patiali Rao(Chandigarh) sections, the fauna survived wellafter the Olduvai subchron, and extinction invarious sections ranges in age from 1.72 to0.6 Ma. Near the Olduvai subchron, the lastphase of the Himalayan orogeny was marked byinitial deposition of the Boulder ConglomerateFormation and was probably one of the reasonsfor the gradual extinction of the Pinjor MammalianFauna. Two biostratigraphic interval-zones,Elephas planifrons Interval-Zone (3.6–2.6 Ma)and Equus sivalensis Interval-Zone (2.6–0.6 Ma)are also recognized on the basis of mammalianfossils and magnetostratigraphy. Twenty-fivetaxa made their first appearance in the olderzone whereas forty-eight taxa are restricted tothe younger zone.2008040474最 大 的 啮 齿 类 化 石 = The largest fossil rodent.( 英 文 ). Rinderknecht A; Blanco R E. Proceedingsof the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,2008, 275(1637): 923-928The discovery of an exceptionally wellpreservedskull permits the description of thenew South American fossil species of the rodent,Josephoartigasia monesi sp. nov. (family:Dinomyidae; Rodentia: Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha).This species with estimated body massof nearly 1000kg is the largest yet recorded. Theskull sheds new light on the anatomy of the extinctgiant rodents of the Dinomyidae, which areknown mostly from isolated teeth and incompletemandible remains. The fossil derives fromSan José Formation, Uruguay, usually assignedto the Pliocene–Pleistocene (4–2Myr ago), andthe proposed palaeoenvironment where this rodentlived was characterized as an estuarine ordeltaic system with forest communities2008040475印 度 西 部 早 始 新 世 兔 形 类 及 兔 形 类 的 早 期 分异 = Early Eocene lagomorph (Mammalia) fromWestern India and the early diversification ofLagomorpha. ( 英 文 ). Kenneth D; Rose K D;DeLeon V B; Missiaen P. Proceedings of theRoyal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2008,275(1639): 1203-1208We report the oldest known record of Lagomorpha,based on distinctive, small ankle bones(calcaneus and talus) from Early Eocene deposits(Middle Ypresian equivalent, ca 53Myr ago)of Gujarat, west-central India. The fossils predatethe oldest previously known crown lagomorphsby several million years and extend therecord of lagomorphs on the Indian subcontinentby 35Myr. The bones show a mosaic of derivedcursorial adaptations found in gracile Leporidae(rabbits and hares) and primitive traits characteristicof extant Ochotonidae (pikas) and morerobust leporids. Together with gracile and robustcalcanei from the Middle Eocene of Shanghuang,China, also reported here, the Indian fossils suggestthat diversification within crown Lagomorphaand possibly divergence of the familyLeporidae were already underway in the EarlyEocene2008040476143