Fossil Record 19(2): 101-117, doi: 10.5194/fr-19-101-2016
Actinistian gular plates from the Cretaceous of Mexico and the problems assigning gular plates taxonomically
Hans-Peter Schultze‡, Katia Adriana González-Rodríguez§‡ Kansas University, United States of America§ Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Museo de Paleontología, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo, Mexico
© Hans-Peter Schultze, Katia Adriana González-Rodríguez. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Schultze H-P, González-Rodríguez KA (2016) Actinistian gular plates from the Cretaceous of Mexico and the problems assigning gular plates taxonomically. Fossil Record 19(2): 101-117. https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-101-2016 |  |
Abstract
Two gular plates of an indeterminate actinistian are described from theCretaceous of Muhi quarry, Hidalgo state, in central Mexico. Their narrow shapebelongs to the few actinistian gular plates with a high length / width ratio(above 4) in contrast to most known actinistian gular plates with alength / width ratio below 4. The gulars of Muhi quarry are assigned, withcaution, to the actinistian family Mawsoniidae on the basis of thelength / width ratio (around 4.5) of the gular, which can be found in threeother genera of the family. There are not enough characteristics inactinistian gular plates alone to erect a new genus or species. Noteworthy isthe large size of the Muhi gulars that corresponds to a body length of about1.6 m – the length of Latimeria today. The gulars are preserved inassociation with a basibranchial tooth plate and a few neural spines. This isthe third actinistian record from the Cretaceous of Mexico.