A new species of Pleuropholis (Teleostei: Pleuropholidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Akrabou Formation of southeastern Morocco, with comments on the evolutionary history of the genus

A pleuropholid fish is described for the first time from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Akrabou Formation, Agoult locality, southeastern Morocco. The new material, consisting of a single complete specimen, is attributed to a new species, Pleuropholis danielae, diagnosed by its slender body shape,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cretaceous research 2023-08, Vol.148, p.105500, Article 105500
Main Authors: Brito, Paulo M., Vullo, Romain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actinopterygii
Africa
Cenomanian
Earth Sciences
Neopterygii
New taxon
Paleontology
Pleuropholid fishes
Sciences of the Universe
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A pleuropholid fish is described for the first time from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Akrabou Formation, Agoult locality, southeastern Morocco. The new material, consisting of a single complete specimen, is attributed to a new species, Pleuropholis danielae, diagnosed by its slender body shape, the absence of a leptolepid notch in the dentary, a broad maxilla, covering almost the entirely lower jaw, and flank scales with an unserrated posterior margin. This species represents the last known occurrence of Pleuropholidae, a group so far unknown from the Late Cretaceous. •A pleuropholid fish specimen is described from the Cenomanian of Agoult, SE Morocco.•The specimen is assigned to a new species of the genus Pleuropholis, P. danielae.•This is the first known occurrence of Pleuropholidae in the Upper Cretaceous.•Pleuropholid fishes may have become extinct at the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary.•This adds to our understanding of the mid-Cretaceous turnover of marine fish faunas.
ISSN:0195-6671
1095-998X
DOI:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105500