Selachians from the Early Eocene Kapurdi Formation (Fuller's Earth), Barmer District, Rajasthan

Based on well preserved isolated teeth, nine genera and twelve species of Eocene selachians (sharks and rays) are recorded and described from the Kapurdi Formation (Fuller's Earth) exposed in an open cast mine situated 3 km northeast of the Barakha village in the Barmer District, Rajasthan. The assemblage includes Notorhynchus sp.; Galeorhinus sp. 1; Galeorhinus sp. 2; Galeocerdo sp.; Physogaleus sp.; Sphyrna sp; Rhinobatos sp. 1; Rhinobatos sp. 2; Dasyatis sp.; Dasyatoidea indet.; Heterotorpedo sp, and Myliobatis sp. Of these, Notorhynchus, Physogaleus, and Heterolorpedo are being reported for the first time from the Indian subcontinent. The associated fish remains are represented by Teleostei including ?Osteoglossidae gen. et sp. indet., Enchodus sp., Sphyraena sp, and Diodon sp., but these will be described elsewhere after additional collections. No reptilian and mammalian remains have so far been found in the fishyielding Kapurdi beds. The Kapurdi ichthyofauna has similarities with the Upper Palaeocene-Lower Eocene fish assemblages known from the Kakara and Subathu Formations in the Himalayan foothills. It is indicative of deposition in a lagoonal Near-Shore environment and is consistent with the Lower Eocene age interpreted mainly on the basis of the foraminifera1 assemblage.