A specimen of Paralycoptera Chang & Chou 1977 (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei) from Hong Kong (China) with a potential Late Jurassic age that extends the temporal and geographical range of the genus
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science, Evolutionary Studies, Paleontology, Taxonomy, Zoology
- Keywords
- Jurassic, fish, osteoglossomorph, lacustrine, volcanism, Paralycoptera, Hong Kong, Lai Chi Chong Formation
- Copyright
- © 2014 Tse et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2014. A specimen of Paralycoptera Chang & Chou 1977 (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei) from Hong Kong (China) with a potential Late Jurassic age that extends the temporal and geographical range of the genus. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e725v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.725v1
Abstract
We identify an osteoglossoid teleost fish - Paralycoptera - from Late Jurassic volcaniclastic mudstones from the Lai Chi Chong Formation of Hong Kong, China. This partially preserved postcranial skeleton represents the first Mesozoic fish from Hong Kong and the most southerly Paralycoptera to date. A radiometric date for the Lai Chi Chong Formation of ~146 Ma implies a temporal range expansion for Paralycoptera of approximately 40 million years back from the Early Cretaceous (~110Ma). However, spores found in the Formation suggest an Early Cretaceous age that is consistent with the existing age assignment to Paralycoptera. We argue that the proposed temporal range extension is genuine because it is based on recent precise and accurate radiometric data, but given the discrepancies with the biostratigraphic ages further investigation is needed to confirm this. This study provides an important step towards revealing Hong Kong’s Mesozoic vertebrate fauna and understanding its relationship to well-studied mainland Chinese ones.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.
Supplemental Information
Supplemental tables including phylogenetic data matrices and character lists
Supplemental Tables (S1-S6): S1, Specimens used for comparative studies with SHGM L275; S2-S5, Phylogenetic data matrices and character lists; S6, Spore taxa found in the Lai Chi Chong Formation.
