Welcome to Visited Vertebrata Palasiatica, Today is

A new species of Scleropages (Osteoglossidae, Osteoglossomorpha) from the Eocene of Guangdong, China

Expand
  • 1 Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100044
    2 CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment Beijing 100044

Received date: 2019-11-19

  Online published: 2020-04-20

Abstract

A new species of Scleropages, an extant genus of the Osteoglossidae, is described from the Lower Eocene Huayong Formation in the Sanshui Basin, Guangdong, China. The new species, Scleropages sanshuiensis sp. nov., was attributed to Scleropages because it possesses the diagnostic features of the genus in skull bones, caudal skeleton, the shape and position of fins, and reticulate scales. Compared with the four extant and one fossil species of Scleropages, the new species is most similar to the fossil one, S. sinensis. However, S. sanshuiensis is different from S. sinensis in many aspects: the nasal is ornamented; the third infraorbital is slightly smaller than the fourth; the posteroventral margin of the opercle is slightly concave; the pectoral fin extends just to the beginning of the pelvic fin; the distal ends of the neural arches on abdominal centra are not fused; the parapophyses are much longer than in S. sinensis. Scleropages sanshuiensis is closer to S. sinensis but it shares two characters with the living species (ornamented nasal and long parapophyses) while S. sinensis shares two characters with the extant ones too (the third infraorbital slightly larger than the fourth and the distal ends of the neural arches on most abdominal centra fused). It is not clear which one of the two fossil fishes is more closely related to the living fishes. The two fossils are probably in the same evolutionary level. In addition to the rich Mesozoic osteoglossomorphs, many Eocene ones were also found from China. The common ancestor of Scleropages and Osteoglossum may live before the Eocene in East Asia and then dispersed to Australia and other places of the World. Huayong Formation and Yangxi Formation, Songzi, Hubei are comparable and possibly deposited contemporaneously. Therefore, this work supports the view that the Huayong Formation is of Early Eocene.

Cite this article

ZHANG Jiang-Yong . A new species of Scleropages (Osteoglossidae, Osteoglossomorpha) from the Eocene of Guangdong, China[J]. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2020 , 58(2) : 100 -199 . DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.191213

References

[1] Bai B, Wang Y, Meng J et al., 2014. New Early Eocene Basal tapiromorph from southern China and its phylogenetic implications. PLoS ONE 9(10):e110806, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone. 0110806
[2] Bonde N, 2008. Osteoglossomorphs of the marine Lower Eocene of Denmark - with remarks on other Eocene taxa and their importance for palaeobiogeography. In: Cavin L, Longbottom A, Richter M eds. Fishes and the Break-up of Pangea. Geol Soc Spec Publ, 295:253-310
[3] Capobianco A, Friedman M, 2019. Vicariance and dispersal in southern hemisphere freshwater fish clades: a palaeontological perspective. Biol Rev, 94:662-699
[4] Chang M M, Chou C C, 1976. Discovery of Plesiolycoptera on Songhuajiang-Liaoning Basin and origin of Osteoglossomorpha. Vert PalAsiat, 14(3):146-153
[5] Cioffi M B, Ráb P, Ezaz T et al., 2019. Deciphering the evolutionary history of Arowana Fishes (Teleostei, Osteoglossiformes, Osteoglossidae): insight from comparative Cytogenomics. Int J Mol Sci, 20:4296
[6] Cracraft J, 1974. Continental drift and vertebrate distribution. Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 5:215-262
[7] Editorial Committee of Stratigraphical Lexicon of China (ECSLC), 1999. Stratigraphical Lexicon of China-The Tertiary. Beijing: Geological Publishing House. 1-166
[8] Forey P L, Hilton E J, 2010. Two new Tertiary osteoglossid fishes (Teleostei: Osteoglossomorpha) with notes on the history of the family. In: Elliott D K, Maisey J G, Yu X et al. eds. Morphology, Phylogeny and Paleobiogeography of Fossil Fishes. Munich: Friedrich Pfeil. 215-246
[9] Gayet M, Meunier F, 1983. Ecailles actuelles et fossiles d'Osteoglossiformes (Pisces, Téléostéens). C R Acad Sci, Pairs, 297:867-870
[10] Gibbons A D, Whittaker J M, Müller R D, 2013. The breakup of East Gondwana: assimilating constraints from Cretaceous ocean basins around India into a best-fit tectonic model. J Geophys Res, 118:808-822
[11] Greenwood P H, 1970. On the genus Lycoptera and its relationships with the family Hiodontidae (Pisces, Osteoglossomorpha). Bull Br Mus (Nat Hist), Zool, 19:259-285
[12] Günther A, 1864. On a new generic type of fishes discovered by the late Dr. Leichardt in Queensland. Ann Mag Nat Hist Ser 3, 14:195-197
[13] Hills E S, 1934. Tertiary fresh water fishes from southern Queensland. Mem Queen Mus, 10:157-174
[14] Hills E S, 1943. Tertiary freshwater fishes and crocodilian remains from Gladstone and Duaringa, Queensland. Mem Queen Mus, 12:96-100
[15] Hilton E J, Lavoué S, 2018. A review of the systematic biology of fossil and living bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei). Neotrop Ichthyol, 16(3):e180031
[16] Hora S L, 1938. On some fossil fish-scales from the intertrappean beds at Deothan and Kheri, Central Provinces. Rec Geol Surv India, 73:267-294
[17] Hou M C, Chen H D, Tian J C et al., 2007. Sedimentary facies and palaeogeography of the Sanshui Basin, Guangdong during the Pelaeogenel. Sediment Geol Tethyan Geol, 27(2):37-44
[18] Kershaw D R, 1976. A structural and functional interpretation of the cranial anatomy in relations to the feeding of osteoglossoid fishes and a consideration of their phylogeny. Trans Zool Soc London, 33:173-252
[19] Kumar K, Rana R S, Paliwal B S, 2005. Osteoglossid and lepisosteid fish remains from the Paleocene Palana Formation, Rajasthan, India. Palaeontology, 48:1187-1209
[20] Kumazawa Y, Nishida M, 2000. Molecular phylogeny of osteoglossoids: a new model for Gondwanian origin and plate tectonic transportation of the Asian Arowana. Mol Biol Evol, 17(12):1869-1878
[21] Lavoué S, 2015. Testing a time hypothesis in the biogeography of the arowana genus Scleropages (Osteoglossidae). J Biogeogr, 42:2427-2439
[22] Lavoué S, Sullivan J P, 2004. Simultaneous analysis of five molecular markers provides a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis for the living bony-tongue fishes (Osteoglossomorpha: Teleostei). Mol Phylogenet Evol, 33(1):171-185
[23] Li J G, Hong W Y, Wen Y W et al., 2005. Discovery of Early-Middle Eocene fresh water biota and its geological significance in Lubao-Datang area, Sanshui, Guangdong Province. Geol Mine Res South China, 3:72-76
[24] Müller J, 1846. On the structure and characters of the Ganoidei, and on the natural classification of fish. Sci Mem, 4:499-558
[25] Müller S, Schlegel H, 1844. Beschrijving van een nieuwen Zoetwatervisch van Borneo, Osteoglosum formosum. Verhandelingen over de natuurlijke geschiedenis der Nederlandsche overzeesche bezittingen, Leiden, 2:1-7
[26] Murray A M, Wilson M V H, 2005. Description of a new Eocene osteoglossid fish and additional information on ?Sindiga jacksonoides Greenwood and Patterson, 1967 (Osteoglossomorpha), with an assessment of their phylogenetic relationships. Zool J Linn Soc, 144:213-228
[27] Nelson G J, 1969. Infraorbital bones and their bearing on the phylogeny and geography of Osteoglossomorphs. Am Mus Novit, 2394:1-37
[28] Nolf D, Rana R S, Prasad G V R, 2008. Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) fish otoliths from the Deccan Intertrappean Beds, India: a revision. Bull Inst R Sci Nat Belg, Sci Terre, 78:239-259
[29] Rana R S, 1988. Freshwater fish otoliths from the Deccan Trap associated sedimentary (Cretaceous-Tertiary transition) beds of Rangapur, Hyderabad, District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Geobios, 21:465-493
[30] Regan C T, 1909. The classification of teleostean fishes. Ann Mag Nat Hist Ser, 8(3):75-86
[31] Roberts T R, 2012. Scleropages inscriptus, a new fish species from the Tananthayi or Tenasserim River basin, Malay Peninsula of Myanmar (Osteoglossidae: Osteoglossiformes). Aqua Int J Ichthyol, 18:113-118
[32] Sanders M, 1934. Die fossilen Fische der Altterti?ren Süsswasserablagerungen aus mittel-Sumatra. Verhandelingen van het Geologisch-Mijnbouwkundig Genootschap voor Nederland en Kolonien. Geol Ser, 11:1-144
[33] Saville-Kent W, 1892. Description of a new species of true Barrimundi, Osteoglossum jardinii, from northern Queensland. Proc R Soc Queens, 8(3):105-108
[34] Scotese C R, 2014. Atlas of Late Cretaceous maps, Paleomap Atlas for ArcGIS, Vol. 2, The Cretaceous. Mollweide Project, Evanston, IL:Paleomap. 16-22
[35] Shen M, 1989. Eohiodon from China and the distribution of osteoglossomorphs. Vert PalAsiat, 27(4):237-247
[36] Sigé B, Buscaloni A D, Duffaud S et al., 1997. Etat des données sur le gisement crétacé supérieur continental de Champ-Garimond (Gard, Sud de la France). Münch Geowiss Abh, A, 34:111-130
[37] Smith A G, Smith D G, Funnell B M, 1994. Atlas of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Coastlines. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1-99
[38] Su D Z, 1986. The discovery of a fossil osteoglossid fish in China. Vert PalAsiat, 24(1):10-19
[39] Taverne L, 1977. Ostéologie, phylogénèse et systématique des téléostéens fossiles et actuels du super-ordre des ostéoglossomorphes, première partie. Ostéologie des genres Hiodon, Eohiodon, Lycoptera, Osteoglossum, Scleropages, Heterotis et Arapaima. Acad R Belg, Mém Clas Sci, 42:1-235
[40] Taverne L, 2009. On the presence of the osteoglossid genus Scleropages in the Paleocene of Niger, Africa (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha). Bull Inst R Sci Nat Belg, Sci Terre, 79:161-167
[41] Taverne L, Nolf D, Folie A, 2007. On the presence of the osteoglossid fish genus Scleropages (Teleostei, Osteoglossiformes) in the continental Paleocene of Hainin (Mons Basin, Belgium). Belg J Zool, 137:89-97
[42] Tse T K, Pittman M, Chang M M. 2015. A specimen of Paralycoptera Chang & Chou 1977 (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei) from Hong Kong (China) with a potential Late Jurassic age that extends the temporal and geographical range of the genus. PeerJ, 3:e865
[43] Unmack P J, 2001. Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. J Biogeogr, 28:1053-1089
[44] Wang J K, Li G F, Wang J S, 1981. The Early Tertiary fossil fishes from Sanshui and its adjacent basin, Guangdong. Palaeont Sin Ser C, 22:1-90
[45] Wang M, Mayr G, Zhang J Y et al., 2012. New bird remains from the Middle Eocene of Guangdong, China. Acta Palaeont Pol, 57(3):519-526
[46] Wang X F, 2015. A unique early Eocene Monkey-Bird-Fish Fossil-Lagerst?tten. Acta Palaeont Sin, 54(4):425-435
[47] Wang Y, Ro?ek Z, Dong L P, 2017. A new pelobatoid frog from the Lower Eocene of southern China. Palaeobio Palaeoenv, doi: 10.1007/s12549-017-0304-1
[48] Wei Z, Shi Z H, Zeng Y X, 2018. Geological characteristics of volcanic rock in Sanshui Basin of Guangdong Province. Sichuan Nonferrous Metals, 4:9-13
[49] Wilson M V H, Murray A M, 2008. Osteoglossomorpha: phylogeny, biogeography, and fossil record and the significance of key African and Chinese fossil taxa. In: Cavinl Longbottom A, Richter M eds. Fish and the Break-up of Pangaea. Geol Soc London, Spec Publ, 295:185-219
[50] Xu G H, Chang M M, 2009. Redescription of ?Paralycoptera wui Chang & Chou, 1977 (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei) from the Early Cretaceous of eastern China. Zool J Linn Soc, 157:83-106
[51] Xu Y X, Li H M, Zhuang W M, 2000. Sedimentary sequences and tectonic evolution of the Sanshui Sasin in the Eogene period. Guangdong Geol, 15(3):60-66
[52] Zhang J Y, 1998. Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of Kuntulunia (Teleostei: Osteoglossomorpha). J Vert Paleont, 18:280-300
[53] Zhang J Y, 2003. First Phareodus ( Osteoglossomorpha: Osteoglossidae) from China. Vert PalAsiat, 41(4):327-331
[54] Zhang J Y, 2004. New fossil osteoglossomorph from Nigxia, China. J Vert Paleont, 24:515-524
[55] Zhang J Y, Jin F, 1999. A revision of ?Tongxinichthys MA 1980 (Teleostei: Osteoglossomorpha) from the Lower Cretaceous of northern China. In: Arratia G, Schultze H P eds. Mesozoic Fishes 2 - Systematics and Fossil Record. München: Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. 385-396
[56] Zhang J Y, Wilson M V H, 2017. First complete fossil Scleropages (Osteoglossomorpha). Vert PalAsiat, 55(1):1-23
[57] Zhang X Q, Li G, Yang R L et al., 2008. Palaeogeneostracods from the Sanshui Basin of Guangdong. Acta Micropalaeont Sin, 25(3):235-265
[58] Zhang X Q, Zhang X J, Li X Y, 2009. New knowledge of vertebrate fossils in Sanshui Basin. Abstracts of Papers on the 10th National Congress and 25th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Society of China-the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Palaeontological Society of China, Nanjing. 238-239
Outlines

/