BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 July 2014 A Revision of the Middle Triassic Scanilepiform Fish Fukangichthys longidorsalis from Xinjiang, China, with Comments on the Phylogeny of the Actinopteri
Guang-Hui Xu, Ke-Qin Gao, John A. Finarelli
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The scanilepiform ray-finned fish Fukangichthys longidorsalis, from the Middle Triassic non-marine Kelamayi Formation of Xinjiang, China, was previously described incompletely, with many of its morphological characteristics unnoticed or misidentified. This study provides a revision of this problematic taxon based on an extensive reexamination of the original fossil material. Newly recognized anatomical information includes a plate-like quadratojugal, a triangular dermohyal, a wedge-shaped angular, two infraorbitals, three supraorbitals, fringing fulcra on the pectoral fins, and conical, acrodin-capped teeth in the jaws. Results of a phylogenetic analysis confirmed Fukangichthys as a scanilepiform within the Neopterygii, and provided new insights into the evolution of early actinopteran fishes. Cosmoptychius, previously regarded as the oldest stemgroup neopterygian, and Brachydegma, previously hypothesized to be the oldest halecomorph, are here reinterpreted as a stem-group actinopteran and a stem-group neopterygian, respectively. Additionally, Discoserra, previously hypothesized in a position close to the Holostei/Teleostei split, is now recovered in a clade with Ebenaqua, Bobasatrania and Platysomus gibbosus, and is therefore phylogenetically distant from crown neopterygians. As a consequence, fossil candidates for divergence time calibrations within the Actinopteri require reconsideration.

© 2014 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Guang-Hui Xu, Ke-Qin Gao, and John A. Finarelli "A Revision of the Middle Triassic Scanilepiform Fish Fukangichthys longidorsalis from Xinjiang, China, with Comments on the Phylogeny of the Actinopteri," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(4), 747-759, (1 July 2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.837053
Received: 12 November 2012; Accepted: 1 July 2013; Published: 1 July 2014
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top