Scalacurvichthys, Cawley & Kriwet, 2018

Cawley, John J. & Kriwet, Jurgen, 2018, A new pycnodont fish, Scalacurvichthys naishi gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous of Israel, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 16 (8), pp. 659-673 : 661-662

Genus Scalacurvichthys gen. nov.

Type species. Scalacurvichthys naishi sp. nov.

Age. Early–middle Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous.

Diagnosis. Pycnodontid fish with the following autapomorphic characters: large triangular dermocranium; large anteriorly curved first dorsal ridge scale which protrudes above the skull roof; 11 dorsal axonosts; single post-cloacal ventral ridge scale; position of anal fin (preanal length/standard length) being at 70–79%; large, anterior and posterior bifurcating cloacal scales. Unique combination of plesiomorphic and derived characters: body outline intermediate between discoid and fusiform; body height 50% of standard length (SL); dermocranial fenestra absent; premaxillary bone with two teeth and no olfactory fenestra; 21 neural vertebrae excluding the caudal peduncle; 30–31 caudal fin rays; four epurals and 10 hypochordals in the caudal endoskeleton; hypochordals six, seven and eight seem to be fused into a large fan-shaped ossification.

Derivation of name. The genus name is derived from the Latin noun ‘ scala ’ meaning ‘scale’, the Latin adjective ‘ curva ’ meaning ‘curved’ in allusion to the raised, anterior-facing first dorsal ridge scale protruding above the skull roof, characteristic of this genus, and the Greek noun ‘ ἰ xu ύ º ’ meaning ‘fish’.