Sunil Bajpai

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Sunil Bajpai
Sunil Bajpai field.jpg
Sunil Bajpai during field work near Jaisalmer City
Born (1961-09-30) 30 September 1961 (age 62)
NationalityIndian
EducationPh.D. in Paleontology
Alma mater Panjab University, Chandigarh
OccupationVertebrate Paleontologist
Employer(s) Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand
Organization(s)Former Director, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow

Sunil Bajpai is the Chair Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology in the Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. He is in service as a professor at IIT Roorkee since 1st January 1996 till 30 September 2026. [1] He also served as the director of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences from January 2013 to July 2018. [2]

Contents

Sunil Bajpai predominantly works on the Cenozoic vertebrates of India with focus on marine mammals, such as whales and sea cows. [3] [4] [5] [6] Bajpai and his collaborators fossil discoveries from the Eocene of Kutch (Gujarat) and the Himalayas have helped in understanding how whales have evolved. [3] [4] Bajpai also works on land mammals, which includes the early representatives of horses, artiodactyls, and primates, such as the stem perissodactyl family Cambaytheriidae, artiodactyl Gujaratia, and primates such as the adapoid Marcgodinotius and the omomyid Vastanomys. [7] [8] [9] Additionally, he has worked on many other fossil vertebrates such as sharks, bony fishes, frogs, snakes, lizards, insectivores, rodents, etc. [10] [11] [12] He has also been involved in studies of latest Cretaceous-Paleocene faunas of the Deccan volcanic province of India and their implications in understanding the northward drift of the Indian tectonic plate. [13]

In 2023, Bajpai and colleagues reported on Tharosaurus indicus , India's first dicraeosaurid dinosaur, from the Thar Desert of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan state, western India. The fossils were unearthed from Middle Jurassic outcrops of the Jaisalmer Formation. The taxon likely represents the oldest known record of this group and, seen in conjunction with previously known early Jurassic sauropods from India ( Barapasaurus , Kotasaurus ), suggests that what is now India may have been a major centre for neosauropod evolution. [14] In 2024, he coauthored the descriptions of what may be the largest known madtsoiid snake, Vasuki indicus from Naredi Formation, [15] and the mammal Indotriconodon from the Late Cretaceous Intertrappean Beds. [16]

Education

Bajpai carried out his Ph.D. studies in Paleontology from the Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 1990. [17]

Honors and awards

Collaborators

J. G. M. Thewissen, the Dutch-American Paleontologist from the Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstow,  whose research is mainly focused on whale evolution, and Daryl Domning from Howard University, Washington D.C., specialist of fossil sirenians have been the main collaborators of Bajpai. [23] [24] [25] [26]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakicetidae</span> Family of mammals

Pakicetidae is an extinct family of Archaeoceti that lived during the Early Eocene in Pakistan. Unlike modern cetaceans, they had well developed limbs and were capable of walking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of cetaceans</span>

The evolution of cetaceans is thought to have begun in the Indian subcontinent from even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) 50 million years ago (mya) and to have proceeded over a period of at least 15 million years. Cetaceans are fully aquatic marine mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla and branched off from other artiodactyls around 50 mya. Cetaceans are thought to have evolved during the Eocene, the second epoch of the present-extending Cenozoic Era. Molecular and morphological analyses suggest Cetacea share a relatively recent closest common ancestor with hippopotami and that they are sister groups. Being mammals, they surface to breathe air; they have five finger bones (even-toed) in their fins; they nurse their young; and, despite their fully aquatic life style, they retain many skeletal features from their terrestrial ancestors. Research conducted in the late 1970s in Pakistan revealed several stages in the transition of cetaceans from land to sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesonychia</span> Extinct taxon of carnivorous ungulates

Mesonychia is an extinct taxon of small- to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to artiodactyls. Mesonychians first appeared in the early Paleocene, went into a sharp decline at the end of the Eocene, and died out entirely when the last genus, Mongolestes, became extinct in the early Oligocene. In Asia, the record of their history suggests they grew gradually larger and more predatory over time, then shifted to scavenging and bone-crushing lifestyles before the group became extinct.

<i>Pakicetus</i> Genus of ancient whales

Pakicetus is an extinct genus of amphibious cetacean of the family Pakicetidae, which was endemic to Pakistan during the Ypresian period, roughly 50 million years ago. It was a wolf-like mammal, about 1 metre to 2 metres long, and lived in and around water where it ate fish and other animals. The vast majority of paleontologists regard it as the most basal whale, representing a transitional stage between land mammals and whales. It belongs to the even-toed ungulates with the closest living non-cetacean relative being the hippopotamus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeoceti</span> Paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans from Early Eocene to Late Oligocene

Archaeoceti, or Zeuglodontes in older literature, is a paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans that lived from the Early Eocene to the late Oligocene. Representing the earliest cetacean radiation, they include the initial amphibious stages in cetacean evolution, thus are the ancestors of both modern cetacean suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. This initial diversification occurred in the shallow waters that separated India and Asia 53 to 45 mya, resulting in some 30 species adapted to a fully oceanic life. Echolocation and filter-feeding evolved during a second radiation 36 to 35 mya.

Himalayacetus is an extinct genus of carnivorous aquatic mammal of the family Ambulocetidae. The holotype was found in Himachal Pradesh, India, in what was the remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Early Eocene. This makes Himalayacetus the oldest archaeocete known, extending the fossil record of whales some 3.5 million years.

<i>Ichthyolestes</i> Genus of mammals

Ichthyolestes is an extinct genus of archaic cetacean that was endemic to Indo-Pakistan during the Lutetian stage. To date, this monotypic genus is only represented by Ichthyolestes pinfoldi.

<i>Indohyus</i> Genus of extinct artiodactyl mammals from Eocene Epoch

Indohyus is an extinct genus of digitigrade even-toed ungulates known from Eocene fossils in Asia. This small chevrotain-like animal found in the Himalayas is one of the earliest known non-cetacean ancestors of whales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raoellidae</span> Family of mammals

The Raoellidae, previously grouped within Helohyidae, are an extinct family of semiaquatic digitigrade artiodactyls in the clade Whippomorpha. Fossils of raoellids are found in Eocene strata of South and Southeast Asia.

<i>Remingtonocetus</i> Genus of mammals

Remingtonocetus is an extinct genus of early cetacean freshwater aquatic mammals of the family Remingtonocetidae endemic to the coastline of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Eocene. It was named after naturalist Remington Kellogg.

<i>Eotheroides</i> Extinct genus of Eocene sirenian

Eotheroides is an extinct genus of Eocene sirenian. It is an early member of the family Dugongidae, which includes the extant dugong. Fossils have been found from Egypt, India, and Madagascar. Eotheroides was first described by Richard Owen in 1875 under the name Eotherium, which was replaced by the current name in 1899.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remingtonocetidae</span> Family of mammals

Remingtonocetidae is a diverse family of early aquatic mammals of the order Cetacea. The family is named after paleocetologist Remington Kellogg.

Indobune is an extinct genus of ungulate endemic to Asia during the Eocene from 55.8—48.6 Ma, living for approximately 7.2 million years.

The Willwood Formation is a sedimentary sequence deposited during the late Paleocene to early Eocene, or Clarkforkian, Wasatchian and Bridgerian in the NALMA classification.

<i>Andrewsiphius</i> Extinct remingtonocetid early whale known from the Eocene

Andrewsiphius is an extinct remingtonocetid early whale known from the Eocene of Gujarat and Kutch, India and Balochistan, Pakistan.

Cambaytherium is an extinct genus of placental mammals in the family Cambaytheriidae whose fossils were found in an open pit coal mine located in Gujarat, India. The mine was a treasure trove full of teeth and bones, over 200 of which were identified as belonging to Cambaytherium thewissi. The fossils were dated to the Early Eocene, 54.5 million years ago, making them slightly younger than the oldest known fossils belonging to the order Perissodactyla.

Marcgodinotius is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Asia during the early Eocene. It is a monotypic genus, the only species being Marcgodinotius indicus. Another adapiform primate Suratius robustus was found in the same horizon. Anthrasimias may be a junior synonym of Marcgodinotius and Anthrasimias gujaratensis a junior synonym of Marcgodinotius indicus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrewsiphiinae</span> Subfamily of mammals

The Andrewsiphiinae is an extinct subfamily of early whales of the family Remingtonocetidae. Thiewessen & Bajpai (2009) proposed the clade when Andrewsiphius and Kuchicetus were accepted as separate genera. Kuchicetus was originally synonymized with Andrewsiphius in 2001 by Gingerich et al., but later authors, however, still accept both as separate genera.

The Kuldana Formation is a fossil-bearing geological formation of Lutetian age which crops out in northern Pakistan. The abundant fossil remains were deposited by rivers and estuaries crossing an arid to semi-arid environment, between several marine transgressions. Its fossil fauna is best known for the early cetaceans Indohyus, Pakicetus and Ambulocetus, that helped to shed a new light on the evolution of whales, but it also features a large number of early ungulates, rodents and primates.

Cambaytheriidae is a family of primitive four or five-toed ungulates native to the Indian subcontinent. They lived during the Early Eocene epoch and are distinguished by the presence of bunodont teeth suitable for eating tough vegetation. They are related to, but distinct from, the early perissodactyls, and may also be closely related to the anthracobunids as a sister group to the Perissodactyla.

References

  1. ↑ "Sunil Bajpai". www.iitr.ac.in. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Welcome to BSIP". www.bsip.res.in. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 Thewissen, J. G. M.; Cooper, Lisa Noelle; George, John C.; Bajpai, Sunil (2009). "From Land to Water: the Origin of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 2 (2): 272–288. doi: 10.1007/s12052-009-0135-2 . ISSN   1936-6426. S2CID   11583496.
  4. 1 2 Thewissen, J. G. M.; Cooper, Lisa Noelle; Clementz, Mark T.; Bajpai, Sunil; Tiwari, B. N. (2007). "Whales originated from aquatic artiodactyls in the Eocene epoch of India". Nature. 450 (7173): 1190–1194. Bibcode:2007Natur.450.1190T. doi:10.1038/nature06343. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   18097400. S2CID   4416444.
  5. ↑ Bajpai, S.; Thewissen, J. G. M.; Sahni, A. (2009). "The origin and early evolution of whales: macroevolution documented on the Indian Subcontinent". Journal of Biosciences. 34 (5): 673–686. doi:10.1007/s12038-009-0060-0. ISSN   0250-5991. PMID   20009264. S2CID   28232300.
  6. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Thewissen, J. G. M.; Kapur, Vivesh Vir; Tiwari, B. N.; Sahni, Ashok (2006). "Eocene and Oligocene sirenians (Mammalia) from Kachchh, India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (2): 400–410. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[400:eaosmf]2.0.co;2. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   86682899.
  7. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Kay, Richard F.; Williams, Blythe A.; Das, Debasis P.; Kapur, Vivesh V.; Tiwari, B. N. (2008). "The oldest Asian record of Anthropoidea". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (32): 11093–11098. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10511093B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804159105 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   2516236 . PMID   18685095.
  8. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Kapur, Vivesh V.; Thewissen, J. G. M.; Das, Debasis P.; Tiwari, B. N.; Sharma, Ritu; Saravanan, N. (2005). "Early eocene primates from Vastan lignite mine, Gujarat, western India". Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India. 50 (2): 43–45. ISSN   0552-9360.
  9. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Kapur, Vivesh V; Das, Debasis P; Tiwari, B N; N, Saravanan; Sharma, Ritu (2005). "Early Eocene land mammals from the Vastan Lignite Mine, District Surat (Gujarat), western India". Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India. 50 (1): 101–113.
  10. ↑ Carolin, Nora; Bajpai, Sunil; Maurya, Abhayanand Singh; Schwarzhans, Werner (2022). "New perspectives on late Tethyan Neogene biodiversity development of fishes based on Miocene (~ 17 Ma) otoliths from southwestern India". PalZ. 97: 43–80. doi:10.1007/s12542-022-00623-9. ISSN   0031-0220. S2CID   249184395.
  11. ↑ Das, Debasis P.; Carolin, Nora; Bajpai, Sunil (2022). "A nyctitheriid insectivore (Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) of Asian affinity from the early Eocene of India". Historical Biology. 34 (7): 1157–1165. Bibcode:2022HBio...34.1157D. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1966002. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   238735010.
  12. ↑ Kumar, Krishna; Bajpai, Sunil; Pandey, Pragya; Ghosh, Triparna; Bhattacharya, Debasish (2022). "Hybodont sharks from the Jurassic of Jaisalmer, western India". Historical Biology. 34 (6): 953–963. Bibcode:2022HBio...34..953K. doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.1954920. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   238781606.
  13. ↑ Chatterjee, Sankar; Scotese, Christopher R; Bajpai, Sunil (2017). The Restless Indian Plate and Its Epic Voyage from Gondwana to Asia: Its Tectonic, Paleoclimatic, and Paleobiogeographic Evolution. Geological Society of America. doi:10.1130/spe529. ISBN   978-0-8137-2529-1.
  14. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Datta, Debajit; Pandey, Pragya; Ghosh, Triparna; Kumar, Krishna; Bhattacharya, Debasish (4 August 2023). "Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 12680. Bibcode:2023NatSR..1312680B. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   10403599 . PMID   37542094.
  15. ↑ Datta, Debajit; Bajpai, Sunil (18 April 2024). "Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal". Scientific Reports . 14 (1): 8054. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-58377-0 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMID   38637509.
  16. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Rautela, Abhay; Yadav, Ravi; Wilson Mantilla, Gregory P. (29 February 2024). "The first eutriconodontan mammal from the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2312234. ISSN   0272-4634.
  17. 1 2 "Sunil Bajpai". iitr.ac.in. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "Indian Academy of Sciences". fellows.ias.ac.in. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "A compilation of national geoscience awardees 1995-2012" (PDF). Government of India - Ministry of Mines. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "National Award for Geoscience & Technology - Prof. Sunil Bajpai" (PDF). www.moes.gov.in. Ministry of Earth Sciences. 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  21. ↑ Swami, Narendra K.; Ernst, Andrej; Tripathi, Satish C.; Barman, Prasenjit; Bharti, S.K.; Rana, Y.P. (2019). "A new cryptostome bryozoan Ptilotrypa from the Upper Ordovician Yong Limestone Formation: Tethyan sequence of Kumaun Higher Himalaya, India". Journal of Paleontology. 93 (3): 585–591. Bibcode:2019JPal...93..585S. doi:10.1017/jpa.2018.94. ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   135358848.
  22. ↑ Khosla, S. C.; Nagori, M. L. (2007). "Ostracoda from the Inter-trappean Beds of Mohgaon-Haveli, Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh". Journal of the Geological Society of India. S2CID   134191312.
  23. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Thewissen, J. G. M.; Kapur, Vivesh Vir; Tiwari, B. N.; Sahni, Ashok (2006). "Eocene and Oligocene sirenians (Mammalia) from Kachchh, India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (2): 400–410. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[400:EAOSMF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   86682899.
  24. ↑ Nummela, Sirpa; Thewissen, J. G. M.; Bajpai, Sunil; Hussain, S. Taseer; Kumar, Kishor (2004). "Eocene evolution of whale hearing". Nature. 430 (7001): 776–778. Bibcode:2004Natur.430..776N. doi:10.1038/nature02720. PMID   15306808. S2CID   4372872.
  25. ↑ Bajpai, Sunil; Domning, Daryl P. (1997). "A new dugongine sirenian from the early Miocene of India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (1): 219–228. Bibcode:1997JVPal..17..219B. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10010965. ISSN   0272-4634.
  26. ↑ Baipai, Sunil; Domning, Daryl P.; Das, D.P.; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Mishra, V. P. (2010). "A new fossil sirenian (Mammalia, Dugonginae) from the Miocene of India". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 258 (1): 39–50. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0082. ISSN   0077-7749.
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