Abstract
Abstract. Complete morphological descriptions, as preservation permits, are provided for a new Late Jurassic fish taxon (Ebertichthys ettlingensis n. gen. et n. sp.) and a revision of some morphological features of Ascalabos voithii Graf zu Münster from the Solnhofen limestones, southern Germany. A new family, Ascalaboidae, is erected to include the two species. The new family is supported by numerous synapomorphies, e.g., maxilla with external row of small conical teeth increasing in size posteriorly, absence of gular plate, low number of vertebrae (34 to 39), deep and narrow supracleithrum – deeper than opercle, and vertebral centrum formation of caudal region including paired chordacentra (pseudo-diplospondyly) that fuse in early ontogeny forming one chordacentrum that is later surrounded by an autocentrum. A phylogenetic analysis based on 173 characters and 42 taxa was performed. Following the phylogenetic hypothesis, the sister-group relationship [Ascalabos + Ebertichthys] + more advanced teleosts stands above the node of Leptolepis coryphaenoides plus more advanced teleosts and below the node of Tharsis plus more advanced teleosts, and the new taxa are interpreted as extinct and primitive forms within Teleostei. The new genus and species is endemic and restricted to one Upper Jurassic locality – Ettling – whereas Ascalabos is known from different localities in the Solnhofen limestones, with the exception of Ettling.
Highlights
The fossiliferous localities of Bavaria, southern Germany, represent one of the richest fossil fish localities and one of the most extraordinary fossil Lagerstätte in the world (Arratia et al, 2015)
Arratia: New remarkable Late Jurassic teleosts from southern Germany on the 23 specimens recovered at that time
Specimens here studied are deposited in the following institutions: care: D. Berman (CM), Carnegie Museum, Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; CMMH, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio; JME ETT, Jura Museum Eichstätt, Bavaria (ETT indicates that the fish was collected in Ettling); JME SOS, Jura Museum Eichstätt, Bavaria (SOS indicates that the fish was collected at an unspecified locality in the Solnhofen limestones); NHM, Natural History Museum, London; and SMNH, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Paleozoology, Stockholm
Summary
The fossiliferous localities of Bavaria, southern Germany, represent one of the richest fossil fish localities and one of the most extraordinary fossil Lagerstätte in the world (Arratia et al, 2015). They are a succession of Upper Jurassic localities (Kimmeridgian, Tithonian; Schweigert, 2015) with hundreds of nominal plant and animal species (Schultze, 2015, table 5). Fishes illustrated by Knorr were giving scientific names by de Blainville (1818).
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.