Early Eocene (∼50 M. Y.) Legume Fruits from Rajasthan

The early Eocene (55-52 Ma) is one of the most biologically diverse intervals associated with extensive migration of biota from one land to another in the earth's history. This epoch has witnessed exceptionally warm temperature recorded in global deep marine environments, though Shukla et. al. have recently suggested cooler early Eocene temperature regime for the terrestrial biome on the basis of CLAMP analysis. The north-moving Indian subcontinent is said to be subducted beneath the Eurasian plate at this juncture, and the biota of each land mass marked its own way to move far and wide. To study these changes in deep time we have collected several plant fossils from the Gurha lignite mine (27.87398°N, 72.86709°E) in Rajasthan. Our collection contains several legume (family Fabaceae) fruits of which two are systematically described here.