Adrianaichthys, Meunier & Eustache & Dutheil & Cavin, 2016

Meunier, François J., Eustache, René-Paul, Dutheil, Didier & Cavin, Lionel, 2016, Histology of ganoid scales from the early Late Cretaceous of the Kem Kem beds, SE Morocco: systematic and evolutionary implications, Cybium 40 (2), pp. 121-132 : 122

Adrianaichthys gen. nov.

Type species. – Adrianaichthys pankowskii ( Forey, López-Arbarello & MacLeod, 2011)

Diagnosis. – As for the type and only known species, see Forey et al. (2011).

Etymology. – In honour of Adriana López-Arbarello, palaeoichthyologist at the Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München, who undertook the difficult task to untangle the phylogeny and systematics of ginglymodian fish, and ‘ ichthys’ (fish in Greek).

Remarks. – In their original description of “ Lepidotes” pankowskii, Forey et al. (2011) pointed out the heterogeneous status of the genus “ Lepidotes ”, which was at that time in urgent need of revision. López-Arbarello (2012), in a revision of several ginglymodian taxa, did not include this species in her phylogenetic analysis, but suggested that “ L. ” pankowskii is most probably a lepisosteiform incertae genus. In subsequent articles dealing with this species, the genus Lepidotes was generally quoted between inverted comma ( Bermúdez-Rochas and Poyato-Ariza, 2015; Benyoucef et al., 2015) or preceded by a question mark ( Cavin et al., 2015). In order to clarify this situation, a new genus name is coined. Among other characters, Adrianaichthys gen. nov. differs from Lepidotes as defined by López-Arbarello (2012) by its first anterior infraorbital bone not deeper than the more posterior anterior infraorbitals, three pairs of extrascapulars (versus one) and eight suborbitals, four of which lying in front of the orbit. According to López-Arbarello (2012), Adrianaichthys pankowskii shows characters of Lepisosteiformes , such as scales with rostro-caudal articulation through anterior dorsal and ventral processes, co-ossified vomers, three or more pairs of extrascapulars, closed circumorbital bone ring, and large supraorbital bone longest ventrally, contacting more than one infraorbital bone. We include here A. pankowskii in the Lepisosteiformes , pending a revision of the species.