DOCSLIB.ORG

Norntates PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Norntates PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y AMERICAN MUSEUM Norntates PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 2866, pp. 1-30, figs. 1-26, 1 table December 18, 1986 Coelacanths from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil JOHN G. MAISEY1 ABSTRACT Specimens of Mawsonia sp. (possibly repre- dermal bones, the dermosphenotic morphology, senting the type species, M. gigas), plus a new and the number of paired posterior elements in genus and species of fossil coelacanth, are de- the skull roof suggest that the new coelacanth is scribed from the Romualdo Member of the San- related to Mawsonia. A phylogenetic hypothesis tana Formation, Chapada do Araripe, Ceara (Bra- is offered in which Mawsonia plus the new taxon zil). The new form, Axelrodichthys araripensis, is represent the sister group ofMacropoma and Lati- distinguished from other coelacanths on the basis meria. The new coelacanth is represented by sev- ofits cranial anatomy. The posterior moiety ofthe eral complete, articulated skeletons, among the first skull roofhas a median dermal element plus three to be discovered in South America. paired ossifications. Heavy rugose ornament ofthe INTRODUCTION Fossils of coelacanth fishes from South 40 km north-south across the Ceara-Pernam- America are extremely rare and until now buco border and into Piaui (Lima, 1978). The have consisted mostly of incomplete and principal collecting areas in Ceara are around fragmentary specimens. The discovery of Santana, Jardim, and Missao Velhao. Access complete examples in the Lower Cretaceous is generally difficult and hazardous. The Cha- Santana Formation of Ceara (northeastern pada do Araripe is capped by the Exu For- Brazil) is therefore ofconsiderable interest to mation, some 200 m of current-bedded red paleontologists. sandstones and siltstones above the Santana The Santana Formation is exposed along Formation. The latter has much greater lith- the flanks of the Chapada do Araripe, a pla- ological variation, with interbedded lime- teau extending some 180 km east-west and stones, evaporites, marls, and siltstones 1 Associate Curator, Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History. Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 1986 ISSN 0003-0082 / Price $3.60 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 2866 (Mabesoone and Tinoco, 1973). Fossil fishes tion. One of these is referable to Mawsonia, occur in concretionary limestones at various but according to Campos and Wenz (1982, levels in the Santana Formation, but partic- p. 1152), "Les proportions relatives de ularly toward the base of the upper (Romu- l'avant et de l'arriere-crane, notamment la aldo) Member. Slight differences of lithology presence d'un museu etroit et allonge, indi- allow recognition of concretions from differ- quent que le Mawsonia de Ceara est speci- ent localities and horizons. Santana Forma- fiquement distinct de l'espece de Bahia et des tion coelacanths in the AMNH collection formes Africaines, toutes datees du Neocom- come mostly from Santana, some 50 km west ien a l'Albien." Unfortunately in the other of Juazeiro do Norte, but also from Jardim, coelacanth taxon from Ceara (here regarded slightly under 50 km to the southeast. Some as a new genus), the anterior skull roofis even specimens (e.g., AMNH 11759, from San- more elongate and narrow than in Santana tana) are associated with ostracods resem- Formation specimens referred to Mawsonia, bling Pattersoncypris; the low diversity ofos- and so it is impossible to determine which of tracods within the concretionary limestones the taxa Campos and Wenz (1982) were re- is said to indicate a fresh or brackish envi- ferring to Mawsonia. As discussed below, the ronment (Bate, 1972), although this may only two coelacanth taxa from the Santana For- be true of the lower part of the Romualdo mation share several peculiar features, in- Member (Mabesoone and Tinoco, 1973). It cluding postparietals (also found in other is uncertain whether the coelacanths from Mawsonia spp.), suggesting that they are Araripe were fully marine or else tolerant of closely related. They are certainly separate brackish to fresh water. species, but it is my view that the two are Despite the great abundance and diversity sufficiently distinct to merit generic separa- of the fossil fishes from the Santana For- tion. mation (Silva Santos and Valenca, 1968), the There is some disagreement concerning fauna has still not been adequately surveyed. coelacanth bone terminology. In the present This is surprising when one considers the ex- work I have mostly followed Forey's (1981) cellent state ofpreservation and the ease with terminology, except for features not dis- which these fossils may be prepared in acid cussed by him. (e.g., Toombs and Rixon, 1950; Rixon, 1976, The age of the Santana fishes was set as pl. 8). Although the Santana fishes have been Aptian by Silva Santos and Valenca (1968), known since the early 19th century (Spix and on the basis of comparison with other ich- Martius, 1828; Agassiz, 1841, 1844) several thyofaunas. This determination was rein- rare taxa have only recently been discovered. forced by the discovery of supposedly iden- Among the latest additions to the Santana tical species of fossil fishes in the Riachuelo paleofauna are coelacanths, which were first Formation of Sergipe-Alagoas, below am- reported on the basis of incomplete cranial monite zones representing the Albian and and postcranial remains by Campos and Wenz Upper Aptian (Silva Santos, 1981). While this (1982), who reported two taxa, Mawsonia sp. may place an upper limit to their age, the and "Forme B." Mawsonia was recognized Santana fish fossils could nevertheless pre- on the basis of two large skulls showing sup- date the Upper Aptian by a significant amount posedly characteristic "posterior parietals" (i.e., Neocomian or Upper Jurassic), accord- (termed postparietals here). "Forme B" was ing to available palynological and ostracod founded on a fragment ofthe body, preserved data (Maisey, in prep.). in part and counterpart. Without complete specimens it was not possible for Campos and Wenz (1982) to make direct comparisons ABBREVIATIONS between these supposedly different coel- acanths. INSTITUTIONAL The AMNH collection confirms the pres- AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, ence of two distinct coelacanth taxa in the New York Romualdo Member of the Santana Forma- DGM, Divisao de Geologia e Mineralogia, De- 1986 MAISEY: COELACANTHS 3 partamento Nacional da Producao Mineral, Rio SYSTEMATICS de Janeiro CLASS OSTEICHTHYES SUBCLASS SARCOPTERYGII ANATOMICAL ORDER ACTINISTIA afs, anterior fossa of parietal FAMILY COELACANTHIDAE AGASSIZ 1844 ang, angular Genus Mawsonia Woodward antart, antotic articulation (in Mawson and antpr, antotic process of basisphenoid Woodward, 1907) apa, anterior apophysis of parietal EMENDED DIAGNOSIS: Coelacanths of large apr, ascending process of prootic size (estimated body length up to 3 + m); skull art, articular roofing bones and angular ornamented by au, autopalatine heavy rugosities; bsp, basisphenoid operculum and gular or- cc, cranial cavity namented by numerous radiating striae; an- col, supraorbital sensory canal terior moiety of skull roof 1.5 to 2 times as coron, coronoid long as posterior part and from 2 to 2.5 times den, dentary as long as broad; posterior skull roof with di, internal depression of anterior apophysis three paired bones (parietals, supratempor- dpr, dorsal process of ectethmoid als, and postparietals); dermosphenotic with dsp, dermosphenotic splintlike anterior projection, and with in- faeb1, facet for articulation of first epibranchial fraorbital sensory canal located away from foc, fossa for otic canal the anterior margin; lachrymojugal elongate, fr, frontal the posterior g, gular two-thirds almost straight, an- hm, hyomandibular facet teriorly extending to the tectal series; anterior in, intemasal margin of metapterygoid slopes obliquely j, jugular canal forward as it rises from the pterygoid. la, lachrymal process of lateral rostral TYPE SPECIES: Mawsonia gigas Woodward lj, lachrymojugal (1907); Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian), Ba- mppa, median postparietal hia Basin, Brazil. mpt, metapterygoid my, myodome Mawsonia cf. gigas Woodward na, nasal np, notochordal pit REFERRED MATERIAL op, operculum AMNH 11758 Nearly complete skull roof and pa, parietal associated elements oforobran- padl, descending lamina of parietal chial skeleton. par, parasphenoid AMNH 12216 Partial skull roof with sensory pls, "pleurosphenoid" suture canals exposed. pop, preopercular AMNH 12217 Large basisphenoid with part of postcor, "posterior coronoid" parasphenoid attached. ppa, postparietal (paired) AMNH 12218 Large badly damaged basisphe- prcon, processus connectens noid and prootic. preart, prearticular ?DGM 11 07-P, 1109-P (mentioned in Campos pro, prootic and Wenz, 1982). prof, canal for superficial ophthalmic pt, pterygoid All the above specimens are from the Ro- qu, quadrate mualdo Member, Santana Formation, Cha- so, supraorbitals pada do Araripe, Ceara, Brazil. spl, splenial sq, squamosal SYSTEMATIC NOTE st, supratemporal tec, tectal AMNH 11758 closely resembles the ho- VII, facial nerve lotype of Mawsonia gigas, BM(NH)P 10355 la I in A 5cm i pa -antpr atb' ; dpr bsp hm, j ' pro B Fig. 1. Mawsonia cf. gigas, AMNH 11758. Acid-prepared skull in (A) ventral; (B) lateral; and (C) dorsal aspects. Prior erosion has resulted in loss of parasphenoid and parts of prootics. 1 986 MAISEY: COELACANTHS 5 - foc my6: 2 cm B Fig. 2. Mawsonia cf. gigas, AMNH
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Osteichthyes: Sarcopterygii) Apex Predator from the Eifelian-Aged Dundee Formation of Ontario, Canada
    Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences A large onychodontiform (Osteichthyes: Sarcopterygii) apex predator from the Eifelian-aged Dundee Formation of Ontario, Canada. Journal: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences Manuscript ID cjes-2016-0119.R3 Manuscript Type: Article Date Submitted by the Author: 04-Dec-2016 Complete List of Authors: Mann, Arjan; Carleton University, Earth Sciences; University of Toronto Faculty of ArtsDraft and Science, Earth Sciences Rudkin, David; Royal Ontario Museum Evans, David C.; Royal Ontario Museum, Natural History; University of Toronto, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Laflamme, Marc; University of Toronto - Mississauga, Chemical and Physical Sciences Keyword: Sarcopterygii, Onychodontiformes, Body size, Middle Devonian, Eifelian https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjes-pubs Page 1 of 34 Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences A large onychodontiform (Osteichthyes: Sarcopterygii) apex predator from the Eifelian- aged Dundee Formation of Ontario, Canada. Arjan Mann 1,2*, David Rudkin 1,2 , David C. Evans 2,3 , and Marc Laflamme 1 1, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B1, Canada, [email protected], [email protected] 2, Department of Palaeobiology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6 3, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2 *Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected] ca). https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjes-pubs Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences Page 2 of 34 Abstract The Devonian marine strata of southwestern Ontario, Canada have been well documented geologically, but their vertebrate fossils are poorly studied. Here we report a new onychodontiform (Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii) Onychodus eriensis n.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous)
    ORYCTOS.Vol. 3 : 3 - 8. Décembre2000 FIRSTRECORD OT CALAMOPLEU RUS (ACTINOPTERYGII:HALECOMORPHI: AMIIDAE) FROMTHE CRATO FORMATION (LOWER CRETACEOUS) OF NORTH-EAST BRAZTL David M. MARTILL' and Paulo M. BRITO'z 'School of Earth, Environmentaland PhysicalSciences, University of Portsmouth,Portsmouth, POl 3QL UK. 2Departmentode Biologia Animal e Vegetal,Universidade do Estadode Rio de Janeiro, rua SâoFrancisco Xavier 524. Rio de Janeiro.Brazll. Abstract : A partial skeleton representsthe first occurrenceof the amiid (Actinopterygii: Halecomorphi: Amiidae) Calamopleurus from the Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation (Aptian) of north east Brazil. The new spe- cimen is further evidencethat the Crato Formation ichthyofauna is similar to that of the slightly younger Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation of the same sedimentary basin. The extended temporal range, ?Aptian to ?Cenomanian,for this genus rules out its usefulnessas a biostratigraphic indicator for the Araripe Basin. Key words: Amiidae, Calamopleurus,Early Cretaceous,Brazil Première mention de Calamopleurus (Actinopterygii: Halecomorphi: Amiidae) dans la Formation Crato (Crétacé inférieur), nord est du Brésil Résumé : la première mention dans le Membre Nova Olinda de la Formation Crato (Aptien ; nord-est du Brésil) de I'amiidé (Actinopterygii: Halecomorphi: Amiidae) Calamopleurus est basée sur la découverted'un squelettepar- tiel. Le nouveau spécimen est un élément supplémentaireindiquant que I'ichtyofaune de la Formation Crato est similaire à celle du Membre Romualdo de la Formation Santana, située dans le même bassin sédimentaire. L'extension temporelle de ce genre (?Aptien à ?Cénomanien)ne permet pas de le considérer comme un indicateur biostratigraphiquepour le bassin de l'Araripe. Mots clés : Amiidae, Calamopleurus, Crétacé inférieu4 Brésil INTRODUCTION Araripina and at Mina Pedra Branca, near Nova Olinda where cf.
    [Show full text]
  • 71St Annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Paris Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA November 2 – 5, 2011 SESSION CONCURRENT SESSION CONCURRENT
    ISSN 1937-2809 online Journal of Supplement to the November 2011 Vertebrate Paleontology Vertebrate Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Society of Vertebrate 71st Annual Meeting Paleontology Society of Vertebrate Las Vegas Paris Nevada, USA Las Vegas, November 2 – 5, 2011 Program and Abstracts Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 71st Annual Meeting Program and Abstracts COMMITTEE MEETING ROOM POSTER SESSION/ CONCURRENT CONCURRENT SESSION EXHIBITS SESSION COMMITTEE MEETING ROOMS AUCTION EVENT REGISTRATION, CONCURRENT MERCHANDISE SESSION LOUNGE, EDUCATION & OUTREACH SPEAKER READY COMMITTEE MEETING POSTER SESSION ROOM ROOM SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS SEVENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING PARIS LAS VEGAS HOTEL LAS VEGAS, NV, USA NOVEMBER 2–5, 2011 HOST COMMITTEE Stephen Rowland, Co-Chair; Aubrey Bonde, Co-Chair; Joshua Bonde; David Elliott; Lee Hall; Jerry Harris; Andrew Milner; Eric Roberts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Philip Currie, President; Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Past President; Catherine Forster, Vice President; Christopher Bell, Secretary; Ted Vlamis, Treasurer; Julia Clarke, Member at Large; Kristina Curry Rogers, Member at Large; Lars Werdelin, Member at Large SYMPOSIUM CONVENORS Roger B.J. Benson, Richard J. Butler, Nadia B. Fröbisch, Hans C.E. Larsson, Mark A. Loewen, Philip D. Mannion, Jim I. Mead, Eric M. Roberts, Scott D. Sampson, Eric D. Scott, Kathleen Springer PROGRAM COMMITTEE Jonathan Bloch, Co-Chair; Anjali Goswami, Co-Chair; Jason Anderson; Paul Barrett; Brian Beatty; Kerin Claeson; Kristina Curry Rogers; Ted Daeschler; David Evans; David Fox; Nadia B. Fröbisch; Christian Kammerer; Johannes Müller; Emily Rayfield; William Sanders; Bruce Shockey; Mary Silcox; Michelle Stocker; Rebecca Terry November 2011—PROGRAM AND ABSTRACTS 1 Members and Friends of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, The Host Committee cordially welcomes you to the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Las Vegas.
    [Show full text]
  • Geological Survey of Ohio
    GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF OHIO. VOL. I.—PART II. PALÆONTOLOGY. SECTION II. DESCRIPTIONS OF FOSSIL FISHES. BY J. S. NEWBERRY. Digital version copyrighted ©2012 by Don Chesnut. THE CLASSIFICATION AND GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF OUR FOSSIL FISHES. So little is generally known in regard to American fossil fishes, that I have thought the notes which I now give upon some of them would be more interesting and intelligible if those into whose hands they will fall could have a more comprehensive view of this branch of palæontology than they afford. I shall therefore preface the descriptions which follow with a few words on the geological distribution of our Palæozoic fishes, and on the relations which they sustain to fossil forms found in other countries, and to living fishes. This seems the more necessary, as no summary of what is known of our fossil fishes has ever been given, and the literature of the subject is so scattered through scientific journals and the proceedings of learned societies, as to be practically inaccessible to most of those who will be readers of this report. I. THE ZOOLOGICAL RELATIONS OF OUR FOSSIL FISHES. To the common observer, the class of Fishes seems to be well defined and quite distin ct from all the other groups o f vertebrate animals; but the comparative anatomist finds in certain unusual and aberrant forms peculiarities of structure which link the Fishes to the Invertebrates below and Amphibians above, in such a way as to render it difficult, if not impossible, to draw the lines sharply between these great groups.
    [Show full text]
  • (Early Cretaceous, Araripe Basin, Northeastern Brazil): Stratigraphic, Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeoecological Implications
    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 218 (2005) 145–160 www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo Controlled excavations in the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation (Early Cretaceous, Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil): stratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological implications Emmanuel Faraa,*, Antoˆnio A´ .F. Saraivab, Dio´genes de Almeida Camposc, Joa˜o K.R. Moreirab, Daniele de Carvalho Siebrab, Alexander W.A. Kellnerd aLaboratoire de Ge´obiologie, Biochronologie, et Pale´ontologie humaine (UMR 6046 du CNRS), Universite´ de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers cedex, France bDepartamento de Cieˆncias Fı´sicas e Biologicas, Universidade Regional do Cariri - URCA, Crato, Ceara´, Brazil cDepartamento Nacional de Produc¸a˜o Mineral, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil dDepartamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Received 23 August 2004; received in revised form 10 December 2004; accepted 17 December 2004 Abstract The Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation (Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil) is famous for the abundance and the exceptional preservation of the fossils found in its early diagenetic carbonate concretions. However, a vast majority of these Early Cretaceous fossils lack precise geographical and stratigraphic data. The absence of such contextual proxies hinders our understanding of the apparent variations in faunal composition and abundance patterns across the Araripe Basin. We conducted controlled excavations in the Romualdo Member in order to provide a detailed account of its main stratigraphic, sedimentological and palaeontological features near Santana do Cariri, Ceara´ State. We provide the first fine-scale stratigraphic sequence ever established for the Romualdo Member and we distinguish at least seven concretion-bearing horizons. Notably, a 60-cm-thick group of layers (bMatraca˜oQ), located in the middle part of the member, is virtually barren of fossiliferous concretions.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Early Triassic Osteichthyes from Spiti, Indian Himalayas
    Swiss J Palaeontol (2016) 135:275–294 DOI 10.1007/s13358-015-0098-6 Marine Early Triassic Osteichthyes from Spiti, Indian Himalayas 1 1 1 1 Carlo Romano • David Ware • Thomas Bru¨hwiler • Hugo Bucher • Winand Brinkmann1 Received: 12 March 2015 / Accepted: 11 August 2015 / Published online: 28 September 2015 Ó Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz (SCNAT) 2015 Abstract A new, marine osteichthyan (bony fish) fauna strata of other localities. The study of Early Triassic fish from the Early Triassic of northern India is presented. The assemblages, including the presented one, is fundamental material was collected in situ at localities within Pin Valley for our understanding of the great osteichthyan diversifi- (Lahaul and Spiti District, Himachal Pradesh, India) and is cation after the Late Permian mass extinction event. dated as middle-late Dienerian (one specimen possibly earliest Smithian). The new ichthyofauna includes a lower Keywords Neotethys Á Northern Indian Margin Á jaw of the predatory basal ray-finned fish Saurichthys,a Gondwana Á Anoxia Á Biotic recovery Á Urohyal nearly complete specimen of a parasemionotid neoptery- gian (cf. Watsonulus cf. eugnathoides), as well as further Abbreviations articulated and disarticulated remains (Actinopterygii CMNFV Canadian Museum of Nature (Fossil indet., Actinistia indet.), and thus comprises the most Vertebrate), Ottawa, Canada complete Triassic fish fossils known from the Indian sub- MNHN.F Muse´um National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, continent. Saurichthys is known from many Triassic France localities and reached a global distribution rapidly after the PIMUZ Pala¨ontologisches Institut und Museum, Late Permian mass extinction event. Parasemionotidae, a Universita¨tZu¨rich, Zu¨rich, Schweiz species-rich family restricted to the Early Triassic, also achieved widespread distribution during this epoch.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) from the Mid- Cretaceous of North Africa
    Accepted Manuscript A new species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) from the mid- Cretaceous of North Africa Megan L. Jacobs, David M. Martill, Nizar Ibrahim, Nick Longrich PII: S0195-6671(18)30354-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2018.10.018 Reference: YCRES 3995 To appear in: Cretaceous Research Received Date: 28 August 2018 Revised Date: 18 October 2018 Accepted Date: 21 October 2018 Please cite this article as: Jacobs, M.L., Martill, D.M., Ibrahim, N., Longrich, N., A new species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) from the mid-Cretaceous of North Africa, Cretaceous Research (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2018.10.018. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. 1 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 A new species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) 2 from the mid-Cretaceous of North Africa 3 Megan L. Jacobs a* , David M. Martill a, Nizar Ibrahim a** , Nick Longrich b 4 a School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK 5 b Department of Biology and Biochemistry and Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath 6 BA2 7AY, UK 7 *Corresponding author. Email address : [email protected] (M.L.
    [Show full text]
  • Coelacanth Discoveries in Madagascar, with AUTHORS: Andrew Cooke1 Recommendations on Research and Conservation Michael N
    Coelacanth discoveries in Madagascar, with AUTHORS: Andrew Cooke1 recommendations on research and conservation Michael N. Bruton2 Minosoa Ravololoharinjara3 The presence of populations of the Western Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) in AFFILIATIONS: 1Resolve sarl, Ivandry Business Madagascar is not surprising considering the vast range of habitats which the ancient island offers. Center, Antananarivo, Madagascar The discovery of a substantial population of coelacanths through handline fishing on the steep volcanic 2Honorary Research Associate, South African Institute for Aquatic slopes of Comoros archipelago initially provided an important source of museum specimens and was Biodiversity, Makhanda, South Africa the main focus of coelacanth research for almost 40 years. The advent of deep-set gillnets, or jarifa, for 3Resolve sarl, Ivandry Business catching sharks, driven by the demand for shark fins and oil from China in the mid- to late 1980s, resulted Center, Antananarivo, Madagascar in an explosion of coelacanth captures in Madagascar and other countries in the Western Indian Ocean. CORRESPONDENCE TO: We review coelacanth catches in Madagascar and present evidence for the existence of one or more Andrew Cooke populations of L. chalumnae distributed along about 1000 km of the southern and western coasts of the island. We also hypothesise that coelacanths are likely to occur around the whole continental margin EMAIL: [email protected] of Madagascar, making it the epicentre of coelacanth distribution in the Western Indian Ocean and the likely progenitor of the younger Comoros coelacanth population. Finally, we discuss the importance and DATES: vulnerability of the population of coelacanths inhabiting the submarine slopes of the Onilahy canyon in Received: 23 June 2020 Revised: 02 Oct.
    [Show full text]
  • Hans-Peter Schultze, a Great Paleoichthyologist for Whom Work Is Synonymous with Enjoyment
    Mitt. Mus. Nat.kd. Berl., Geowiss. Reihe 5 (2002) 5-17 10.11.2002 Hans-Peter Schultze, a great paleoichthyologist for whom work is synonymous with enjoyment Richard Cloutierl With 4 figures and 2 tables In the summer of 1982, Hans-Peter Schultze and above all by his simplicity and friendliness. Two Gloria Arratia were invited to a small museum years later I started my PbD. at The University located on a fossiliferous site of the Devonian of Kansas, under the supervision of Hans-Peter. Escuminac Formation in Miguasha, Quebec, Compared to his long career, these two weeks eastern Canada. Hans-Peter was to work with that Hans-Peter spent in Miguasha represent an Marius Arsenault, the director of the Miguasha extremely short period of time. Some might say Museum, on the skull of the elpistostegalid EZ- that this little anecdote is insignificant when in- pistostege watsoni, a species closely related to ba- troducing a vertebrate paleontologist (Fig. ZA) sal tetrapods. In addition, he went through the who published 132 papers and books (a total of collections to describe and measure numerous 2977 published pages) in addition to more than juvenile specimens of the osteolepiform Eusthe- 80 abstracts, book reviews and obituaries. How- nopteron foordi. As expected, these two projects ever, this brief story is representative of Hans- turned out to be important contributions in low- Peter’s personality and contributions. He is a er vertebrate paleontology and systematics: one great scientist with numerous interests in science, on the origin of tetrapods (1985), and the second art, and history. Hans-Peter enjoys digging for one on growth patterns of a Late Devonian fish fossils, looking at fossils and describing fossils, (1984).
    [Show full text]
  • APPENDIX 1 Classified List of Fishes Mentioned in the Text, with Scientific and Common Names
    APPENDIX 1 Classified list of fishes mentioned in the text, with scientific and common names. ___________________________________________________________ Scientific names and classification are from Nelson (1994). Families are listed in the same order as in Nelson (1994), with species names following in alphabetical order. The common names of British fishes mostly follow Wheeler (1978). Common names of foreign fishes are taken from Froese & Pauly (2002). Species in square brackets are referred to in the text but are not found in British waters. Fishes restricted to fresh water are shown in bold type. Fishes ranging from fresh water through brackish water to the sea are underlined; this category includes diadromous fishes that regularly migrate between marine and freshwater environments, spawning either in the sea (catadromous fishes) or in fresh water (anadromous fishes). Not indicated are marine or freshwater fishes that occasionally venture into brackish water. Superclass Agnatha (jawless fishes) Class Myxini (hagfishes)1 Order Myxiniformes Family Myxinidae Myxine glutinosa, hagfish Class Cephalaspidomorphi (lampreys)1 Order Petromyzontiformes Family Petromyzontidae [Ichthyomyzon bdellium, Ohio lamprey] Lampetra fluviatilis, lampern, river lamprey Lampetra planeri, brook lamprey [Lampetra tridentata, Pacific lamprey] Lethenteron camtschaticum, Arctic lamprey] [Lethenteron zanandreai, Po brook lamprey] Petromyzon marinus, lamprey Superclass Gnathostomata (fishes with jaws) Grade Chondrichthiomorphi Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous
    [Show full text]
  • Exceptional Vertebrate Biotas from the Triassic of China, and the Expansion of Marine Ecosystems After the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction
    Earth-Science Reviews 125 (2013) 199–243 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth-Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev Exceptional vertebrate biotas from the Triassic of China, and the expansion of marine ecosystems after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction Michael J. Benton a,⁎, Qiyue Zhang b, Shixue Hu b, Zhong-Qiang Chen c, Wen Wen b, Jun Liu b, Jinyuan Huang b, Changyong Zhou b, Tao Xie b, Jinnan Tong c, Brian Choo d a School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK b Chengdu Center of China Geological Survey, Chengdu 610081, China c State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China d Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China article info abstract Article history: The Triassic was a time of turmoil, as life recovered from the most devastating of all mass extinctions, the Received 11 February 2013 Permo-Triassic event 252 million years ago. The Triassic marine rock succession of southwest China provides Accepted 31 May 2013 unique documentation of the recovery of marine life through a series of well dated, exceptionally preserved Available online 20 June 2013 fossil assemblages in the Daye, Guanling, Zhuganpo, and Xiaowa formations. New work shows the richness of the faunas of fishes and reptiles, and that recovery of vertebrate faunas was delayed by harsh environmental Keywords: conditions and then occurred rapidly in the Anisian. The key faunas of fishes and reptiles come from a limited Triassic Recovery area in eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou provinces, and these may be dated relative to shared strati- Reptile graphic units, and their palaeoenvironments reconstructed.
    [Show full text]
  • Giant Fossil Coelacanths from the Late Cretaceous of the Eastern
    ^rfij^i^v^^™, - » v ' - - 4 j/ N ^P"" ,- V ^™ V- -*^ >•;:-* ' ^ * -r;' David R. Schwimmer, Geologist, Columbus State University Introduction In Autumn, 1987, a sizeable mass of fossil bone was discovered by amateur collectors in the bed of a small creek in eastern Alabama. The bone-bearing rock, some 300 kg in weight, was collected by a party led by G. Dent Williams and transferred to the paleontology laboratory at Columbus State University. Williams prepared most of the material using air percussion tools, and I further cleared some bones with acetic acid. A mandible (lower jaw bone) of 502 mm length was the first bone prepared from the material. It strangely lacked evidence of both teeth and tooth sockets, and it was covered medially with coarse denticulation resembling #40 grit sandpaper. The jawbone conformed with no recognizable North American Late Cretaceous fish or four-legged animal, and, given the large size of the mandible, my initial search for an identification ranged from ankylosaurid dinosaurs, to mosasaurs, to the larger contemporary fish, such as Xiphactinus. Nothing known in the Late Cretaceous of North America matched the mandible nor any other bone which was subsequently prepared from this matrix. J.D. Stewart of the L.A. County Museum was prior fossil record of a North American coelacanth is concurrently studying fossils of small marine Diplurus newarki, from freshwater deposits of earliest coelacanths from the Late Cretaceous of western Kansas, Jurassic age (ca. 205 Myr.: Schaeffer, 1941, 1952). USA (which were also a new discovery at the time: see Forey (1981) and Maisey (1991) recognized two sub- Stewart et al., 1991).
    [Show full text]