†Archaeotetraodon cerrinaferoni, sp. nov. (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae), from the Miocene (Messinian) of Chelif Basin, Algeria

ABSTRACT

A new species of pufferfish from the Miocene (Messinian) of Algeria is described. The single specimen available consists of a fragment of the trunk region including abdominal and caudal vertebrae, dorsal and anal fin pterygiophores, and ventral postcleithrum. It can be referred to the genus †Archaeotetraodon on the basis of its bifid scale spinules covering the preserved portion of the body. The skeletal morphology of this new species is compared to that of the previously known †Archaeotetraodon species and of selected extant tetraodontids and used to formulate hypotheses about the potential muscle arrangement in the trunk region, its significance for the functional morphology of swimming and puffing behaviour, and the possible origin of pufferfish.