Osteology and relationships of Luxembourgichthys (“Pholidophorus”) friedeni gen. nov. (Teleostei, “Pholidophoriformes”) from the Lower Jurassic of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The osteology of Luxembourgichthys friedeni (Delsate, 1999) gen. nov. from the marine Toarcian (Grandcourt Formation, Lower Jurassic) of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is studied in detail. This fossil teleost fish was initially assigned to Pholidophorus, a genus that recently received an emended diagnosis (Arratia, 2013). The cranial characters of L. friedeni considerably differ from those that now define Pholidophorus and the Pholidophoridae, excluding its attribution to both this genus and this family. In L. friedeni the posttemporal fossa is completely located on the lateral face of the braincase and not on the rear of the skull as usual. Such a position is unique among “Pholidophoriformes” and justifies the peculiar generic status of this taxon. L. friedeni possesses three specialized characters (a beryciform foramen piercing the anterior ceratohyal, arcocentra associated to the chordacentra and ovoid scales devoid of the peg-and-socket system) suggesting it occupies a position crownward of most “pholidophoriforms”, closer to Jurassic and younger teleosts with cycloid scales.

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Fossils, geology, taxonomy, Fishes, paléontologie