The first record of amiid fishes (Halecomorphi, Amiiformes, Amiidae, Calamopleurini?) from Eastern Gondwana

Abstract

The extant Amiiformes are represented by a single living freshwater genus Amia (bowfin) with recent phylogenomic analysis indicating the presence of multiple species. However, they have a more extensive fossil record first appearing in the Early Jurassic and are recorded as occurring on all continents, except Antarctica and Australia. Here, we describe fossil amiid fishes Calamopleurini? (Halecomorphi, Amiiformes) from the Cretaceous (Albian—Cenomanian) Griman Creek Formation, Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia, representing the first record, extinct or extant, of the amiids in Australia. The material comprises jaw elements that have been replaced by opal. This new record from Australia adds to previously documented Cretaceous Western Gondwanan occurrences from South America and Africa and further supports a distinct southern “Gondwanan” fish population in the seas surrounding the fragmenting Gondwanan landmasses during the ‘mid’ — Late Cretaceous.