title: The oldest ionoscopiform from China sheds new light on the early evolution of halecomorph fishes.
abstract: The Halecomorphi are a major subdivision of the ray-finned fishes. Although living halecomorphs are represented solely by the freshwater bowfin, Amia calva, this clade has a rich fossil history, and the resolution of interrelationships among extinct members is central to the problem of understanding the origin of the Teleostei, the largest clade of extant vertebrates. The Ionoscopiformes are extinct marine halecomorphs that were inferred to have originated in the Late Jurassic of Europe, and subsequently dispersed to the Early Cretaceous of the New World. Here, we report the discovery of a new ionoscopiform, Robustichthys luopingensis gen. et sp. nov., based on eight well-preserved specimens from the Anisian (242-247 Ma), Middle Triassic marine deposits of Luoping, eastern Yunnan Province, China. The new species documents the oldest known ionoscopiform, extending the stratigraphic range of this group by approximately 90 Ma, and the geographical distribution of this group into the Middle Triassic of South China, a part of eastern Palaeotethys Ocean. These new data provide a minimum estimate for the split of Ionoscopiformes from its sister clade Amiiformes and shed new light on the origin of ionoscopiform fishes.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China xuguanghui@ivpp.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guang-Hui
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Coates
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002681:China; D005399:Fishes / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics; D005580:Fossils
keywords: Halecomorphi; Ionoscopiformes; Luoping Biota; Triassic; phylogeny