Gallo Valéria, de Figueiredo Francisco J, Brum Arthur Souza, Soares Marina Bento, Sayão Juliana Manso, Pinheiro André Eduardo Piacentini, Figueiredo Rodrigo Giesta, Lopes Ricardo Tadeu, de Araújo Olga Maria Oliveira, Kellner Alexander W A
Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Laboratório de Paleobiologia e Paleogeografia Antártica, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, MN-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 11;15(1):26650. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03570-y.
Aulopiformes, a clade including lizardfishes and allies, comprise a long-standing marine lineage from the Early Cretaceous to the Recent. We describe Antarctichthys longipectoralis gen. et sp. nov. from the late Campanian marine strata of Antarctica (Snow Hill Island Formation). This species, represented by a single specimen, was recovered during the expedition of PALEOANTAR in Santa Marta Cove (James Ross Island) and it is the most complete vertebrate found in this locality, with a three-dimensional preservation. It was microCT-scanned, providing exclusive details on the anatomy of Aulopiformes unknown for the early history of the clade, i.e., an unexpected otophysic connection in the neurocranium. It has been classified within Dercetidae due to the presence of a longirostrine head, an elongated body, and very reduced neural spines (their unequivocal synapomorphy). It is distinguished from all known dercetids by its elongated pectoral fin and the absence of teeth. Phylogenetic analysis placed it as sister-genus to the late-diverging clade Rhynchodercetis plus Hastichthys. The earliest occurrence of Dercetidae is recorded in the lower Cenomanian, from Komen, Jebel Tselfat and Ein-Yabrud. The pivotal record of this new dercetid fish in Antarctica marks the southernmost occurrence of the group, previously known from the Pelotas Basin, Southern Brazil.
仙女鱼目是一个包含蜥鱼及其同类的分支，是一个从早白垩世到现代的长期存在的海洋谱系。我们描述了来自南极洲晚坎帕阶海洋地层（雪山岛组）的长胸南极鱼（Antarctichthys longipectoralis）新属新种。该物种仅由一个标本代表，是在詹姆斯罗斯岛圣玛尔塔湾的古南极考察期间发现的，是该地区发现的最完整的脊椎动物，保存为三维状态。对其进行了显微CT扫描，提供了仙女鱼目早期历史中未知的解剖学细节，即神经颅骨中意外的耳咽管连接。由于其长吻状头部、细长的身体和非常退化的神经棘（其明确的共有衍征），它被归类为长蛇蜥鱼科。它与所有已知的长蛇蜥鱼科的区别在于其细长的胸鳍和无齿。系统发育分析将其置于晚分化的分支长吻长蛇蜥鱼属（Rhynchodercetis）加哈氏鱼属（Hastichthys）的姐妹属位置。长蛇蜥鱼科最早的出现记录在科曼、杰贝勒特塞尔法特和艾因亚布鲁德的下塞诺曼阶。这种新的长蛇蜥鱼科鱼类在南极洲的关键记录标志着该类群最南端的出现，此前仅在巴西南部的佩洛塔斯盆地有过记录。
