An amioid fish (Neopterygii, Amiiformes) from the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula

KRIWET, J.




ABSTRACT

The first record of the bowfin order Amiiformes in the Late Jurassic of Portugal is reported. The single specimen comes from the Guimarota coal mine near Leiria in the Lusitanian basin. Here, Kimmeridgian strata that yielded abundant teeth, spines, and scales of selachians and actinopterygians are exposed below ground. The specimen described herein is the only disarticulated fish remain from this locality. It consists of jaw elements, parts of the palatoquadrate and opercular apparatus, an element of the postorbital series and some additional postcranial parts. The systematic position of the new specimen is discussed. The combination of characters allows assignment to the Amioidea rather than to other amiiform groups. Therefore, the specimen constitutes the first undoubted record of an amioid in the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula and contributes to the knowledge of Late Jurassic amiiform distribution patterns.



REFERENCE

KRIWET, J. 2005. An amioid fish (Neopterygii, Amiiformes) from the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula. - Geobios, 38: 99-106.