Three-dimensionally preserved specimens of the pachycormiform neopterygian Pachycormus from the Lower Jurassic (Upper Lias) of Strawberry Bank, Ilminster, UK, are described for the first time, and we present new and detailed morphological descriptions of the skull, trunk and fins of these specimens. The cranial material is characteristic of Pachycormus macropterus, with its operculum being twice as long as it is deep and the ventral angle lying towards the posterior half of the bone, and the preorbital portion occupying up to one-third of the skull. The description of the caudal fin conflicts with previous descriptions of caudal fins assumed to belong to Pachycormus. This raises the question of whether the other caudal fins belong to different species of Pachycormus, or whether it could be a case of intraspecific variability and is in conflict with morphometric data suggesting a monospecific status for Pachycormus. Recent phylogenetic analysis indicates that Pachycormus is sister taxon to Ohmdenia, which is an intermediate form between Pachycormus and the later giant suspension-feeding pachycormids. An alternative phylogenetic analysis reveals Pachycormus to be among the most basal pachycormiforms due to its incorporation of characters present in both hyper-carnivorous and suspension-feeding clades. We suggest future research on these specimens such as CT scanning of the skull may offer vital data regarding pachycormiform morphology and actinopterygian evolution, particularly the sister group relationship of pachycormiforms to the successful teleost fishes. In the future it may be important to focus on caudal fin characters of articulated specimens to identify possible cryptic species diversities within Pachycormus and also other members of Pachycormiformes.

†Pycnodontiformes was a successful lineage of primarily marine fishes that broadly diversified during the Mesozoic. They possessed a wide variety of body shapes and were adapted to a broad range of food sources. Two other neopterygian clades possessing similar ecological adaptations in both body morphology (†Dapediiformes) and dentition (Ginglymodi) also occurred in Mesozoic seas. Although these groups occupied the same marine ecosystems, the role that competitive exclusion and niche partitioning played in their ability to survive alongside each other remains unknown. Using geometric morphometrics on both the lower jaw (as constraint for feeding adaptation) and body shape (as constraint for habitat adaptation), we show that while dapediiforms and ginglymodians occupy similar lower jaw morphospace, pycnodontiforms are completely separate. Separation also occurs between the clades in body shape so that competition reduction between pycnodontiforms and the other two clades would have resulted in niche partitioning. Competition within pycnodontiforms seemingly was reduced further by evolving different feeding strategies as shown by disparate jaw shapes that also indicate high levels of plasticity. Acanthomorpha was a teleostean clade that evolved later in the Mesozoic and which has been regarded as implicated in driving the pycnodontiforms to extinction. Although they share similar body shapes, no coeval acanthomorphs had similar jaw shapes or dentitions for dealing with hard prey like pycnodontiforms do and so their success being a factor in pycnodontiform extinction is unlikely. Sea surface temperature and eustatic variations also had no impact on pycnodontiform diversity patterns according to our results. Conversely, the occurrence and number of available reefs and hardgrounds as habitats through time seems to be the main factor in pycnodontiform success. Decline in such habitats during the Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene might have had deleterious consequences for pycnodontiform diversity. Acanthomorphs occupied the niches of pycnodontiforms during the terminal phase of their existence.

A new pycnodont fish from the early–mid Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous, of the ‘Ein Yabrud quarry near the village of Beit Eil in Israel is the first pycnodont fish to be described from this locality. Due to the locality where it was found, Scalacurvithys naishi gen. et sp. nov. is considered an inhabitant of reefal waters interspersed with lagoons in the eastern Tethys Sea. Scalacurvichthys naishi is notable for its protruding, hook-shaped first dorsal ridge scale above a large triangular dermatocranium, a deeply sloped and antero-posteriorly shortened skull and bifurcated cloacal scales. The bifurcating scales are a new character previously unknown in pycnodontomorph fishes but have been discovered in two more taxa, which indicates a new type of character that will be useful for future phylogenetic analyses of pycnodontomorph fishes. The new taxon is a member of Pycnodontidae and we conducted a phylogenetic analysis to establish its relationships to other pycnodont fishes. Our results reveal that Scalacurvichthys naishi is a well-resolved member of the subfamily Pycnodontinae.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:04383E2A-551A-4F57-8996-68E06EFA52E0

BackgroundThe pycnodontiform fish Pycnodus is one of the representatives of the highly diverse actinopterygian fish fauna from the early Eocene Bolca Lagerstätte, representing one of the youngest and thus last occurrences of this extinct neopterygian clade. This genus has historically been used as a wastebasket taxon in regards to poorly known pycnodontiform fossils. Authors have argued over the specific status of the Bolca Lagerstätte Pycnodus in terms of how many species are contained within the genus with some arguing for multiple species and others suggesting lumping all Bolca specimens together into one species.MethodsHere, we use a quantitative approach performing biometric and geometric morphometric analyses on 52 specimens of Pycnodus in order to determine if the morphological variability within the sample might be related to inter- or intraspecific variation.ResultsThe analyses revealed that the variations of body shape, morphometric and meristic characters cannot be used to distinguish different morphotypes. On the contrary, our results show a remarkable link between shape and size, related to ontogeny.DiscussionDifferences in body shape of small (juvenile) and large (adult) individuals is probably related to different microhabitats occupation on the Bolca reef with juveniles sheltering within crevices on the reef and adults being more powerful swimmers that swim above the coral. Taxonomically, we suggest that the Bolca Pycnodus should be referred to strictly as Pycnodus apodus as this was the name given to the holotype. Additionally, an overview of species assigned to Pycnodus is given.