Notodectes is the first endemic pachycormiform genus (Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii, Pachycormiformes) in the Southern Hemisphere

GOUIRIC CAVALLI, SOLEDAD; ALBERTO LUIS CIONE

JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

SOC VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

Lugar: Lawrence; Año: 2015 vol. 35

0272-4634

Jurassic fishes from the Southern Hemisphere are poorly known in comparison with those of the Northern Hemisphere. The Tithonian (Late Jurassic) deposits of Argentina have yielded a rich and taxonomically diverse ichthyofauna. However, these fishes have been only partially described and need to be revised or studied. In this paper, the putative ichthyodectiform actinopterygian Notodectes argentinus is redescribed. The holotype comes from the Vaca Muerta Formation, in the southwestern part of Mendoza province, Argentina. It consists of an incomplete, partially articulated skull in which some of the bones are preserved in three dimensions. The specimen has a unique character combination that allows us not only to diagnose the genus Notodectes but also confirm that it is a member of the actinopterygian order Pachycormiformes. At present, Notodectes represents the first endemic pachycormiform from the Southern Hemisphere and the first specimen found in Mendoza province (north-western region of the Neuquén Basin). Also, Notodectes is the first fast-swimming and clearly ichthyophagous pachycormid reported from the Jurassic of South America.