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Issue: Vol. 3 No. 2: June 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-30
DOI: 10.11646/mesozoic.3.2.6
Page range: 196-206
Abstract views: 91
PDF downloaded: 31

Pteronisculus luopingensis sp. nov., a new stem actinopterygian fish from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Luoping, Yunnan, China

Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100044; China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100049; China
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100044; China
osteology taxonomy Actinopterygii Pteronisculus Luoping biota Triassic Anisian

Abstract

The extinct genus Pteronisculus represents a stem lineage of marine actinopterygians from the Early to Middle Triassic and is characterized by a toothed lacrimal contributing to the oral margin. To date, 13 species have been referred to Pteronisculus; most lived in the Early Triassic, except for two species from the Middle Triassic Luoping biota in Yunnan Province, China. Here, we report a new species of this genus, P. luopingensis sp. nov., based on five well-preserved specimens from the Luoping biota, documenting the third species of Pteronisculus recovered from the Middle Triassic. The new species possesses diagnostic features of Pteronisculus but is easily distinguished from other species of the genus by several autapomorphies of the skull, scales, and fins (e.g., a dermosphenotic shorter than the intertemporal, 89–90 lateral-line scales, and ~40 principal rays in each pelvic fin). The new finding enriches our understanding of the taxonomic diversity of Middle Triassic actinopterygians from the Yangtze Sea and further supports the area as a refuge for the survival of Pteronisculus during this epoch.

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