Large-bodied sabre-toothed anchovies reveal unanticipated ecological diversity in early Palaeogene teleosts.

Autor:	Capobianco A; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.; Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA., Beckett HT; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.; Department of Biology, King's High School for Girls, Warwick, UK., Steurbaut E; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium., Gingerich PD; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.; Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA., Carnevale G; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy., Friedman M; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.; Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Royal Society open science [R Soc Open Sci] 2020 May 13; Vol. 7 (5), pp. 192260. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 May 13 (Print Publication: 2020).
DOI:	10.1098/rsos.192260
Abstrakt:	Many modern groups of marine fishes first appear in the fossil record during the early Palaeogene (66-40 Ma), including iconic predatory lineages of spiny-rayed fishes that appear to have originated in response to ecological roles left empty after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene extinction. The hypothesis of extinction-mediated ecological release likewise predicts that other fish groups have adopted novel predatory ecologies. Here, we report remarkable trophic innovation in early Palaeogene clupeiforms (herrings and allies), a group whose modern representatives are generally small-bodied planktivores. Two forms, the early Eocene (Ypresian) † Clupeopsis from Belgium and a new genus from the middle Eocene (Lutetian) of Pakistan, bear conspicuous features indicative of predatory ecology, including large size, long gapes and caniniform dentition. Most remarkable is the presence of a single, massive vomerine fang offset from the midline in both. Numerous features of the neurocranium, suspensorium and branchial skeleton place these taxa on the engraulid (anchovy) stem as the earliest known representatives of the clade. The identification of large-bodied, piscivorous anchovies contributes to an emerging picture of a phylogenetically diverse guild of predatory ray-finned fishes in early Palaeogene marine settings, which include completely extinct lineages alongside members of modern marine groups and taxa that are today restricted to freshwater or deep-sea environments. Competing Interests: We declare we have no competing interests. (© 2020 The Authors.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:	Zobrazit plný text záznamu