Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Atractosteus (Actinopterygii, Lepisosteidae) remains from Hungary (Iharkút, Bakony Mountains)

Abstract

Lepisosteid fishes are well known from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe, but only by fragmentary remains from some Cenomanian and Campanian–Maastrichtian deposits. Here we report various cranial and postcranial remains of gars, discovered in the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation of Iharkút (Bakony Mountains, Hungary). These remains represent one of the most diverse assemblages of lepisosteid fish material from Upper Cretaceous continental deposits of Europe. Based on tooth morphology, scale-microstructure and the features of the supracleithrum we refer these remains to the genus Atractosteus. Besides some uncertain remains from the Cenomanian of France and Spain, the Santonian aged fossils from Iharkút represent the oldest undisputable occurrence of the family Lepisosteidae in the European continental Cretaceous. Using tooth crown morphology, the surface microstructure of the ganoid scales and the anatomy of the supracleithrum a review of the Late Cretaceous lepisosteid record suggests the occurrence of both Atractosteus and Lepisosteus in the European archipelago.