Osteology and relationships of Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov. and Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov. (Pycnodontiformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon

  • Louis Taverne Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium, Directorate Earth and History of Life, Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels
  • Luigi Capasso Museo Universitario dell’Universitá “G. d’Annunzio” di Chieti-Pescara, Piazza Trento e Trieste 1, I-661000 Chieti
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.420
Keywords: Pycnodontinae, Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov., Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov., osteology, relationships, Cretaceous, Lebanon

Abstract

The skeleton and the relationships of Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov. and of Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov., two pycnodontiform fishes from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, are studied in detail. Both species belong to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by their parietal brush-like process. Some osteological characters (bifid cloacal scale, large well visible dilatator fossa surrounded by the dermosphenotic and the dermopterotic, etc.) indicate that they are members of the subfamily Pycnodontinae. Libanopycnodus gen. nov. has the preopercle much deeper than the exposed region of the hyomandibula-dermohyomandibula and is the most primitive genus of this lineage. Sigmapycnodus gen. nov. is one of the most advanced members of the subfamily. It shares with Oropycnodus Poyato-Ariza & Wenz, 2002 and Pycnodus Agassiz, 1833 an apomorphy not present in the less specialized Pycnodontinae, the arcocentra in hypercomplex contact.

References

Blot J. 1987. L’ordre des Pycnodontiformes. Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca V. Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona.

Capasso L. 2000. Tergestina sorbinii gen. nov., sp. nov., del Paleocene inferiore di Trebiciano, Trieste (Pisces, Pycnodontiformes). Atti del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste 48: 261–289.

Kriwet J. 2001. Palaeobiogeography of pycnodontiform fishes (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii). In: Melendez G., Herrerz Z., Delvene G. & Azanza B. (eds) Los fósiles y la paleogeographia. XII Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontologia: 121–130. Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza.

Marramà G., Villier B., Dalla Vecchia F.M. & Carnevale G. 2016. A new species of Gladiopycnodus (Coccodontoidea, Pycnodontomorpha) from the Cretaceous of Lebanon provides new insights about the morphological diversification of pycnodont fishes through time. Cretaceous Research 61: 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2015.12.022

Martin-Abad H. & Poyato-Ariza F.J. 2013. Historical patterns of distribution in Pycnodontiform and Amiiform fishes in the context of moving plates. Geologica Belgica 16 (4): 217–226. Available from https://popups.uliege.be:443/1374-8505/index.php?id=4243 [accessed 5 Mar. 2018].

Nursall J.R. 1996. Distribution and ecology of pycnodont fishes. In: Arratia G. & Viohl G. (eds) Mesozoic Fishes – Systematics and Paleoecology: 115–124. Verlag Dr. F. Pfeil, Munich.

Poyato-Ariza F.J. 2010. Polazzodus, gen. nov., a new pycnodont fish from the Late Cretaceous of northeastern Italy. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30 (3): 650–664. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724631003762955

Poyato-Ariza F.J. 2013. Sylvienodus, a new replacement genus for the Cretaceous pycnodontiform fish “Pycnodus” laveirensis. Comptes Rendus Palevol 12: 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2013.01.001

Poyato-Ariza F.J. & Wenz S. 2002. A new insight into pycnodontiform fishes. Geodiversitas 24 (1): 139–248.

Taverne L. 1997. Les poissons crétacés de Nardò. 5°. Pycnodus nardoensis sp. nov. et considérations sur l’ostéologie du genre Pycnodus (Actinopterygii, Halecostomi, Pycnodontiformes). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona 21: 437–454.

Taverne L. 2003. Les poissons crétacés de Nardò. 15°. Étude complémentaire de Pseudopycnodus nardoensis (Taverne, 1997) nov. gen. (Actinopterygii, Halecostomi, Pycnodontiformes). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, Geologia Paleontologia Preistoria 27: 15–28.

Taverne L. & Capasso L. 2012. Les poissons crétacés de Nardò. 35°. Compléments à l’étude des halécostomes Belonostomus (Aspidorhynchiformes) et Pseudopycnodus (Pycnodontiformes). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, Geologia Paleontologia Preistoria 36: 25–44.

Taverne L. & Capasso L. 2013. Gladiopycnodontidae, a new family of pycnodontiform fishes from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the description of three genera. European Journal of Taxonomy 57: 1–30. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2013.57

Taverne L. & Capasso L. 2014a. Ostéologie et phylogénie des Coccodontidae, une famille remarquable de poissons Pycnodontiformes du Crétacé supérieur marin du Liban, avec la description de deux nouveaux genres. Palaeontos 25: 3–43.

Taverne L. & Capasso L. 2014b. Ostéologie et relations phylogénétiques des Gebrayelichtyidae (Halecostomi, Pycnodontomorpha), une extraordinaire famille de poissons du Crétacé supérieur marin du Liban, avec la description d’un nouveau genre. Palaeontos 25: 44–68.

Taverne L. & Capasso L. 2014c. On the “Coccodus” lindstroemi species complex (Pycnodontiformes, Gladiopycnodontidae) from the marine Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the description of two new genera. European Journal of Taxonomy 101: 1–27. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.101

Taverne L. & Capasso L. 2016. New data on the osteology and phylogeny of Gladiopycnodontidae (Pycnodontiformes), a tropical fossil fish family from the marine Upper Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the description of four genera. Geo-Eco-Trop 39 (2): 217–246. Available from http://www.geoecotrop.be/index.php?page=numero-39 [accessed 5 Mar. 2018].

Taverne L., Maisey J.G. & Capasso L. 2015. A third longirostrine gladiopycnodontid fish genus (Pycnodontiformes) from the marine Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. Palaeontos 28: 37–42.

Published
2018-03-28
How to Cite
Taverne, L., & Capasso, L. (2018). Osteology and relationships of Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov. and Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov. (Pycnodontiformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. European Journal of Taxonomy, (420). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.420
Issue
No. 420 (2018): Osteology and relationships of Libanopycnodus wenzi gen. et sp. nov. and Sigmapycnodus giganteus gen. et sp. nov. (Pycnodontiformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon
Section
Palaeontology
Copyright (c) 2018 Louis Taverne, Luigi Capasso

Creative Commons Copyright Notices

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are NOT ALLOWED TO post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to taxonomic issues.