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1 December 2022 A New Beardfish (Teleostei, Polymixiiformes) from the Eocene Fur Formation, Denmark
Ane Elise Schrøder, Jan Audun Rasmussen, Peter Rask Møller, Giorgio Carnevale
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Abstract

The earliest Eocene (Ypresian) Fur Formation (Denmark) is globally renowned for its exceptionally well-preserved fossils, including birds, sea turtles, insects, plants, and fishes. Fishes, albeit abundant and diverse, however, are only superficially known and very few detailed, taxonomic studies have been realized to date. A new polymixiiform fish, Polyspinatus fluere gen. et sp. nov., from the Fur Formation is described based on seven well-preserved, nearly complete specimens. All the specimens were studied by traditional stereomicroscopy, and by micro-X-ray fluorescence-element mapping. Digital 2D-element images of strontium-, phosphorus-, and calcium distributions of each specimen were directly applied for the taxonomic descriptions presented herein. Polyspinatus fluere gen. et sp. nov. is the first known Eocene record of the family Polymixiidae based on articulated skeletal remains. Polyspinatus gen. nov. exhibits a unique combination of characters that support its recognition as a new genus of the Polymixiidae. Its specialized hyoid apparatus with the first and second branchiostegal rays being sinuous and parallel to each other, and the third being wide and plate-like, followed by four saber-like elements, is strikingly similar to that of Polymixia, supporting a possible sister-group relationship with extant beardfishes.

Ane Elise Schrøder, Jan Audun Rasmussen, Peter Rask Møller, and Giorgio Carnevale "A New Beardfish (Teleostei, Polymixiiformes) from the Eocene Fur Formation, Denmark," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 42(2), (1 December 2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2022.2142914
Received: 18 August 2022; Accepted: 13 October 2022; Published: 1 December 2022
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