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A NEW DERCETID FISH (NEOTELEOSTEI: AULOPIFORMES) FROM THE TURONIAN OF THE PELOTAS BASIN, SOUTHERN BRAZIL
Author(s) -
FIGUEIREDO FRANCISCO J.,
GALLO VALÉRIA
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
palaeontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1475-4983
pISSN - 0031-0239
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00540.x
Subject(s) - snout , paleontology , geology , anatomy , skull , biology
Dercetid fishes are common in Tethyan marine deposits of Europe, Asia and Africa. In this paper, we describe a South American dercetid fish, Brazilodercetis longirostris gen. et sp. nov., based on juvenile and adult specimens found in core samples at c. 4000 m sediment depth in the Atlântida Formation (Pelotas Basin, southern Brazil). Brazilodercetis longirostris is a slender, elongate fish recognized on the basis of the following features: prominent snout; contact between mesethmoid and frontals very anterior to the orbit; mesethmoid separating the premaxillae for half of their length; juvenile specimens bearing wedge‐like teeth on the anterior third of maxilla; long and shallow crest crossing epioccipital, parietal and posterior border of frontal; a pipe‐like preopercle; and reduced neural spine at the middle point of neural arch. Brazilodercetis shares a number of features with the other dercetids, including a pointed snout that is longer than the lower jaw (with Rhynchodercetis and Hastichthys ), a medioparietal skull roof (with Cyranichthys and Benthesikyme ), an unroofed posttemporal fossa (with Dercetoides , Rhynchodercetis and Pelargorhynchus ), a flange on the anguloarticular (with Dercetoides , Hastichthys , Rhynchodercetis and Cyranichthys ), untoothed premaxillae (with Hastichthys and probably Rhynchodercetis ), and a single row of teeth on the maxillae (with Dercetis , Benthesikyme , Rhynchodercetis , Pelargorhynchus , Dercetoides and Hastichthys ).