Apuliadercetis gonzalezae sp. nov., a North American Campanian dercetid fish (Teleostei, Aulopiformes) from Tzimol, Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

A new member of the family Dercetidae is named in this work as Apuliadercetis gonzalezae sp. nov., based on specimens from the marine Campanian deposits of the Angostura Formation, exposed in the Tzimol quarry, next to Ochuxhob, Tzimol Municipality, southeastern Chiapas. The osteology of this serpentiform and longirostrine new fish shows a diagnostic character of the order Aulopiformes, the occurrence of epipleurals bones associated with abdominal centra extends up to the centrum 2. This species is a member of the family Dercetidae because it shows the most outstanding characters of this extinct clade, two pairs of triangular and expanded transverse processes in the abdominal centra, the low and elongated neural arches on the abdominal centra bearing short neural spines, and a row of triradiate flank scutes on each side of the body. Additionally, this fish belongs to Apuliadercetis because it shares the synapomorphy of this genus, the neural spines of the centra located below the dorsal fin are extremely reduced. This fish represents the third species in the genus and the first from America; such a discovery also shows that this genus had a wide geographical distribution that at least comprised Europe and the far south of North America.