New record of Egertonia (Elopiformes, Phyllodontidae) from the Late Cretaceous of South India

Abstract

AbstractWe report a new occurrence of the phyllodontid teleost fish Egertonia from the Late Cretaceous Kallamedu Formation of the Cauvery Basin, South India. This is the oldest occurrence of Phyllodontidae in India, and only the second Cretaceous Gondwanan occurrence of this genus, following a toothplate previously described from the Late Cretaceous Maevarano Formation, Madagascar. The presence of phyllodontid fish supports a fluvial–deltaic or brackish environment for the lower part of the Kallamedu Formation, a rich deposit including typically Gondwanan taxa, such as simosuchid crocodiles, bothremydid turtles and abelisaurid dinosaurs, as well as an anomalous troodontid dinosaur. Egertonia adds another taxon of primarily Laurasian distribution to the Kallamedu fauna and further expands the list of taxa known from the Late Cretaceous of both India and Madagascar, strengthening the degree of faunal similarity between the two landmasses in the latest Cretaceous.