Gladiopycnodontidae, a new family of pycnodontiform fishes from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the description of three genera
2013
Louis Taverne | Luigi Capasso
The osteology of <em>Gladiopycnodus karami</em> gen. et sp. nov., of <em>Monocerichthys scheuchzeri</em> gen. et sp. nov. and of <em>Rostropycnodus gayeti</em> gen. et sp. nov., three new fossil fishes from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, is studied in detail. Some of their cranial characters and the presence of a postcoelomic bone clearly refer these fishes to the order Pycnodontiformes. However, they differ from all other described Pycnodontiformes by two important characters. Their snout is elongated as a rostrum, formed by the enlarged prefrontal and the toothless premaxilla, with this premaxilla sutured by its upper margin to the lower margin of the prefrontal. Their pectoral fin is replaced by a strong spine articulated with the cleithrum. These two apomorphies justify the erection of a new family, the Gladiopycnodontidae. The skull of <em>Monocerichthys scheuchzeri</em> sp. nov. does not differ greatly from a classical pycnodontiform skull and this species seems to be the more primitive member of this new family. <em>Gladiopycnodus karami</em> gen. et sp. nov. and <em>Rostropycnodus gayeti</em> gen. et sp. nov. are much more specialized. They share some apomorphies not present in <em>Monocerichthys scheuchzeri</em> gen. et sp. nov., i. e., an extremely long rostrum and an elongated first anal pterygiophore that sustains with the postcoelomic bone a strong and long anal spine. Gladiopycnodontidae fam. nov. and Coccodontidae share a series of apomorphies that justify the erection of a new superfamily, Coccodontoidea, grouping these two families.
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