Open AccessFreshwater actinopterygians of the Los Rastros Formation (Triassic), Bermejo Basin, Argentina
Author(s) -
LópezArbarello Adriana,
Rogers Raymond,
Puerta Pablo
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
fossil record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.694
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1860-1014
pISSN - 1435-1943
DOI - 10.1002/mmng.200600011
Subject(s) - incertae sedis , genus , actinopterygii , taxon , biology , gondwana , zoology , geography , paleontology , structural basin , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery
The present paper includes detailed descriptions of all fossil fishes known from the Los Rastros Formation (Ladinian; Bermejo Basin, Argentina). Four taxa are identified: Gualolepis carinaesquamosa n. gen. n. sp., Rastrolepis n. gen. with two species R . riojaensis n. sp. and R . latipinnata n. sp., and Challaia elongata n. comb. Gualolepis n. gen. and Rastrolepis n. gen. are incertae sedis actinopterygians. The opercular bones of Gualolepis resemble those in peipiaosteid acipenseriforms and the fish might be related with the Chondrostei. The most distinctive features of Rastrolepis are the narrow opercular region and the presence of a very large plate‐like branchiostegal bone resembling the condition in the Redfieldiiformes. Challaia elongata , originally described in the Australian genus Myriolepis , is here refered to the genus Challaia , previously known from the nearby Cuyo Basin and representing the first fish taxon common to both continental sequences. Furthermore, Challaia is shown to be a member of the Acrolepidae and represents the youngest record of the family in Gondwana. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)