Coelacanths from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 2866

By

Maisey, John G.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, N.Y, American Museum of Natural History, c1986

Notes

Title from caption.

"December 18, 1986."

"Specimens of Mawsonia sp. (possibly representing the type species, M. gigas), plus a new genus and species of fossil coelacanth, are described from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation, Chapada do Araripe, Ceara (Brazil). The new form, Axelrodichthys araripensis, is distinguished from other coelacanths on the basis of its cranial anatomy. The posterior moiety of the skull roof has a median dermal element plus three paired ossifications. Heavy rugose ornament of the dermal bones, the dermosphenotic morphology, and the number of paired posterior elements in the skull roof suggest that the new coelacanth is related to Mawsonia. A phylogenetic hypothesis is offered in which Mawsonia plus the new taxon represent the sister group of Macropoma and Latimeria. The new coelacanth is represented by several complete, articulated skeletons, among the first to be discovered in South America"--P. [1].

Subjects

Brazil , CearaМЃ (State) , Coelacanthiformes, Fossil , Cretaceous , Fishes, Fossil , Paleontology

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.2866, 1986

Language

English

Identifiers

OCLC: 15723979