A taxonomic reassessment of Ophiopsis (Halecomorphi, Ionoscopiformes), with a revision of Upper Jurassic species from the Solnhofen Archipelago, and a new genus of Ophiopsidae

ABSTRACT

Although the type species of Ophiopsis was long considered O. procera, the genus originally included the single species Ophiopsis muensteri, which subsequent authors moved to Furo. Following the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature code, Furo muensteri is here recognized as the type species of Ophiopsis by monotypy (Article 68.3). Ophiopsiella, gen. nov., is erected to include all remaining previously described ‘Ophiopsis’ species. Exceptionally well preserved new Ophiopsiella attenuata from the Upper Jurassic plattenkalk of Ettling (Bavaria, Germany) represents the first record of this species from Ettling, allowing for a partial revision of it and Ophiopsiella procera. New evidence allows for an emended diagnosis of Ophiopsiella attenuata, which differs from all other Ophiopsidae in the following combination of features: 27–28 dorsal fin rays, 42 vertical scale rows, and a long, low, posteroventrally inclined dorsal fin lacking elongate anterior fin rays or a strongly concave posterior border. A neotype for O. attenuata is designated, as the type is lost. ‘Ophiopsis’ attenuata actually contains two anatomically different morphotypes corresponding to distinct species, one of which is indistinguishable from ‘Ophiopsis’ procera. Exceptional preservation of the new material provides new morphological information, particularly regarding the dermal cranial bones. This revision changes the known distribution of ophiopsids in the Upper Jurassic of southern Germany and France, with possible broader paleobiogeographic and paleoecological implications for this region during the Late Jurassic. Ophiopsids remain poorly known compared with other halecomorphs (e.g., Amiidae), and closer investigation of their morphology and taxonomic relationships is therefore important to understanding broader patterns of halecomorph evolution.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6B250A32-9FAA-4EF6-9D91-6D1C5E91E547

Acknowledgments

We thank M. Kölbl-Ebert (JME), G. Bergér (Museum Bergér, Harthof bei Eichstätt), R. Brocke (SMF), M. Wilmsen (MMG-SNSD), F. Witzmann (MB), D. Berthet, D. Besson, F. Vigoreaux, and M.-L. Bouchet (MHNL), Z. Johanson, M. Richter, and A. Longbottom (NHMUK), P. Havlik, M. Aiglstorfer, and D. Vasilyan (GPIT), A. Henrici (CM), J. Maisey (AMNH), H.-P. Schultze (University of Kansas), C. Schiebel (Gaimersheim), M. Moser and O. Rauhut (BSPG), M. Riley (CAM SM), and G. Clement (MNHN). We thank reviewers P. Brito (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) and F. Poyato-Ariza (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) and the editors for their helpful reviews and comments. We are especially grateful to R. Cuffey (Pennsylvania State University) and F. Poyato-Ariza (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) for numerous helpful suggestions and discussions about taxonomy and nomenclature. We thank G. Arratia and H.-P. Schultze (University of Kansas) for additional helpful comments. Funding for this project was provided by Volkswagen Foundation grant I/84 636 “The Dynamic of the Solnhofen Archipelago.”

Handling editor: Matt Friedman.