Abstract
We describe isolated teleostean teeth found in no association with the jaw bone. The specimens have been recovered in Late Cretaceous marine deposits of the Vivian Formation in the Peruvian Sub-Andean Region. The deposition sequence from where the teeth come is interpreted as a shallowing-upward sequence of low salinity. The fish material is identified as Enchodus aff. E. gladiolus based on the presence of a small but well-developed post-apical barb, an anterior cutting edge, the crown is symmetrical in cross-section, have a sigmoidal profile, and bears strong ridges (=striations). The Peruvian material differs from the typical E. gladiolus teeth in having a faintly serrated anterior cutting edge which is absent in most specimens referred to E. gladiolus. We also highlight that taxonomic assignments made based on isolated teeth must be taken with care. Despite scarce, the material recovered denotes that the marine units of Peru can give valuable information about the Pacific fish fauna during the Late Cretaceous.
Highlights
The Mesozoic fish record is extremely scarce in Peru, especially compared with coeval fossil bearing localities in neighboring countries of western South America such as Bolivia and Chile (e.g., Kriwet and Klug, 2012; Suárez et al, 2003; Arratia, 2015).Enchodontidae is a marine extinct fish clade of the teleostean neopterygian order Aulopiformes (Fielitz, 2004; Nelson et al, 2016)
The specimens have been recovered in Late Cretaceous marine deposits of the Vivian Formation in the Peruvian Sub-Andean Region
E. gladiolus based on the presence of a small but well-developed post-apical barb, an anterior cutting edge, the crown is symmetrical in cross-section, have a sigmoidal profile, and bears strong ridges (=striations)
Summary
The Mesozoic fish record is extremely scarce in Peru, especially compared with coeval fossil bearing localities in neighboring countries of western South America such as Bolivia and Chile (e.g., Kriwet and Klug, 2012; Suárez et al, 2003; Arratia, 2015). Several Enchodus nominal species were described, many of them based on isolated mandibular fragments and teeth (Goody, 1969, 1976; Chalifa, 1989, 1996; Holloway et al, 2017). One of the most striking features of Enchodus species is the presence of long palatine bones with a single, large tooth (=fang), and a corresponding dentary tooth near the mandibular symphysis. These large teeth and others have very good potential of preservation and are relatively diagnostic (Grandstaff and Parris, 1990). We comment about the paleogeographic distribution of the genus Enchodus
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