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A new species of Mesolepis (Actinopterygii) from the Late Carboniferous of Scotland, with especial reference to Mesolepis wardi Young

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

Francis M. ELLIOTT Open the ORCID record for Francis M. ELLIOTT [Opens in a new window]  and
Sam GILES
Francis M. ELLIOTT*
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, East Kilbride, UK.
Sam GILES
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
*
*Corresponding author Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

A new species, Mesolepis arabellae, is described from material recently recovered from the shales of the Scottish Lower Coal Measure Formation. Up until now, three British species of Mesolepis have been named: Mesolepis scalaris Young, Mesolepis wardi Young, and Mesolepis micropterus Traquair. A fourth member of the genus, Mesolepis pustulosa Pruvost from the coalfields of Northern France, was named on scale description alone, though the validity of this taxon is uncertain. The new material described here varies from other Mesolepis species in its caudal peduncle morphology and overall body shape. Micro-computed tomography of the new species reveals the presence of teeth on the premaxilla and dentary and a splint-like fused prearticular and coronoid element, with implications for a possible feeding behaviour of Mesolepis. Additional information on the homogeneous Mesolepis wardi is also presented.

Keywords

coalfieldcompresseddentitionDrumgrayMesolepis arabellaemorphology
Type
Spontaneous Article
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , First View , pp. 1 - 12
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Society of Edinburgh

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