A redescription of Lepidotes bernissartensis

[Logo7]

A new study redescribes the ray-finned fish genus Lepidotes bernissartensis from the Early Cretaceous of Bernissart, Belgium, finding that it actually belongs to the genus Scheenstia, providing the new combination Scheenstia bernissartensis. The study also finds that two additional species from the same site, L. brevifulcratus and L. arcuatus, belong to Scheenstia as well, with both species becoming synonyms of S. bernissartensis. The study also provided a cladistic revision of the genus, finding it to be a member of the family Lepidotidae, positioned in between Lepidotes and more derived members of the family. Here is an image of the fossils used in the redescription and a link to the paper describing the study.



Paper (abstract only): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2019.1634649?journalCode=tjsp20

[Halichoeres]

Lepidotes is long overdue for revision; this seems like a good start.