Overview of the Late Triassic (Carnian) actinopterygian fauna from the Argana Basin (Morocco)
Résumé
The continental outcrops of the Argana Basin (High Atlas of Morocco) have provided therichest tetrapod assemblage and the only known actinopterygian fauna of the Triassic of North Africa.Unlike the tetrapod remains, widely distributed throughout the basin, the actinopterygians are rareand come from a single locality. They are dated as the Late Triassic (Carnian) and have been attributedto six forms. Here, this ichthyofauna is reviewed for the first time since its original description. Twoforms, endemic to the basin, are recognized as valid species and their generic attributions confirmed:the redfieldiiformMauritanichthys rugosus, related to the genusLasalichthysfrom the Late Triassicof North America, and the “perleidiform”Dipteronotus gibbosus, congeneric with Middle Triassicspecies of Europe. The other actinopterygian taxa are known by insufficiently preserved remainsand need a complete material to be confidently identified. Two specimens previously referred to theredfieldiiformIschnolepisare considered as Redfieldiiformes indet. and probably correspond to a newtaxon. The three last forms, previously referred to the “perleidiforms”ProcheirichthysandPerleidus,and to the redfieldiiformAtopocephala, are considered as Actinopterygii indet.
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