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Fossil gibbons are exceedingly rare, with much of the hylobatid fossil record and, consequently, hylobatid evolutionary history remaining unknown. Kapi ramnagarensis was described as a stem hylobatid on the basis of an isolated lower right M3 from ~13.0-12.5 Ma deposits surrounding Ramnagar (J&K), India. This interpretation was recently challenged, with alternative hypotheses suggesting that it is instead a stem catarrhine or a strangely derived pliopithecoid that has converged on hylobatid morphology. A series of morphological features were said to distinguish Kapi from fossil and extant hylobatids; notably, however, none of these features were examined or compared using quantitative analyses. Here, we further examine the dental morphology of Kapi, providing quantitative analyses to critically evaluate the hypothesis that Kapi represents a stem catarrhine or pliopithecoid rather than a stem hylobatid. Results demonstrate that none of the claimed differences between Kapi and hylobatids hold up under closer scrutiny, and multivariate discriminant analyses taking size and shape into account strongly support Kapi as a hylobatid with high posterior probabilities. Although only represented by a single lower molar, Kapi remains the most compelling candidate for the earliest known hylobatid in the fossil record and thus likely documents the simultaneous arrival of lesser and great apes to Asia during the Middle Miocene. 

Although there have been a few reports of macromammals from the Siwalik site of Dunera, no micromammals have yet been described. Recently, a diverse micromammal fossil assemblage represented by isolated teeth has been recovered from Dunera. The specimens are identified as a murine similar to Progonomys hussaini (Progonomys cf. hussaini), the ctenodactylid Sayimys sivalensis, the cricetid Democricetodon fejfari, and a sciurid, cf. Tamias urialis. These rodents are documented for the first time from this region of the Indian Siwaliks. Based on the biostratigraphic ranges of these rodents from well-dated localities in the Siwaliks of Pakistan along with previously collected magnetostratigraphic data, Dunera locality best correlates to between ~11-10 Ma (early Late Miocene), approximately equivalent to the lower half of the Nagri Formation. Previous magneto-stratigraphic data suggests that an age closer to ~11 Ma is more likely, perhaps sampling a temporal gap in the known Siwaliks micromammal record and extending the age ranges of P. hussaini and T. urialis by a few hundred thousand years. 

Abstract The fossil record of treeshrews, hedgehogs, and other micromammals from the Lower Siwaliks of India is sparse. Here, we report on a new genus and species of fossil treeshrew, specimens of the hedgehog Galerix , and other micromammals from the middle Miocene (Lower Siwalik) deposits surrounding Ramnagar (Udhampur District, Jammu and Kashmir), at a fossil locality known as Dehari. The treeshrew from Dehari ( Sivatupaia ramnagarensis n. gen. n. sp.) currently represents the oldest record of fossil tupaiids in the Siwaliks, extending their time range by ca. 2.5–4.0 Myr in the region. Dietary analyses suggest that the new tupaiid was likely adapted for a less mechanically challenging or more frugivorous diet compared to other extant and fossil tupaiids. The occurrence of Galerix has only been recently documented from the Indian Siwaliks and the Dehari specimens help establish the likely presence of a relatively large Siwalik Galerix species in the Ramnagar region. In addition to the new treeshrew and hedgehogs, new specimens of the rodents Kanisamys indicus , Sayimys sivalensis , and Murinae indet. from Dehari help confirm that age estimates for the Ramnagar region are equivalent to the Chinji Formation in Pakistan, most likely corresponding to the middle to upper part of the Chinji Formation. UUID: http://zoobank.org/56fb160c-2df8-4cd3-be91-af4dc02d0979 

Vertebrate fossils have been known from Lower Siwalik Miocene deposits surrounding the town of Ramnagar (Udhampur District, Jammu & Kashmir) in northwest India since Barnum Brown’s American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) expedition in 1922. These fossils included dentognathic specimens of Sivapithecus and other Chinji Formation-aged mammals. Paleontological fieldwork has continued sporadically in the Ramnagar region ever since, and in that time, a large number of vertebrate fossils have been recovered by many different researchers and institutions, including the recently discovered primates Kapi and Ramadapis. Ramnagar fossils are currently housed in several institutions across India and the United States, thereby making it challenging to comprehensively study the entire collection. Consequently, a full understanding of important questions related to the taxonomy, paleobiology, paleoecology, and biochronology of the Ramnagar fauna cannot be readily obtained. Moreover, without answers to these questions, correlations and comparisons cannot be accurately made to other similar aged fossil localities in the Siwaliks (i.e., Potwar Plateau, Pakistan) and elsewhere in Eurasia. Therefore, the goal of this collaborative project is to establish and grow a 3D digital repository of all fossil specimens from the Ramnagar region for continued comprehensive study. We employ µCT, surface scanning, and photogrammetry to virtually bring together specimens from the AMNH, Panjab University, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, and Yale Peabody Museum. Thus far, >100 specimens have been digitized and made openly accessible on the MorphoSource web platform. Here we highlight some of the best-preserved specimens, including recovered primates and micromammals, and discuss their scientific importance. 

The fossil record of ‘lesser apes’ (i.e. hylobatids = gibbons and siamangs) is virtually non-existent before the latest Miocene of East Asia. However, molecular data strongly and consistently suggest that hylobatids should be present by approximately 20 Ma; thus, there are large temporal, geographical, and morphological gaps between early fossil apes in Africa and the earliest fossil hylobatids in China. Here, we describe a new approximately 12.5–13.8 Ma fossil ape from the Lower Siwaliks of Ramnagar, India, that fills in these long-standing gaps with implications for hylobatid origins. This ape represents the first new hominoid species discovered at Ramnagar in nearly a century, the first new Siwalik ape taxon in more than 30 years, and likely extends the hylobatid fossil record by approximately 5 Myr, providing a minimum age for hylobatid dispersal coeval to that of great apes. The presence of crown hylobatid molar features in the new species indicates an adaptive shift to a more frugivorous diet during the Middle Miocene, consistent with other proposed adaptations to frugivory (e.g. uricase gene silencing) during this time period as well.