A platysomid occurrence from the Tournaisian of Nova Scotia.

ABSTRACT: The Hangenberg extinction has been hypothesized as a first order event in vertebrate evolution; however, information on the earliest Carboniferous vertebrate fauna, crucial in evaluating biodiversity changes, is scarce. Post-extinction recovery has been suggested as the driver of ray-finned fish (actinopterygian) richness increase and differentiation in the Carboniferous. Under this model, actinopterygian postcranial morphology differentiates in the second stage of their radiation. Here, we report on a platysomid occurrence from the Tournaisian of Nova Scotia, Canada. Despite long-standing taxonomic issues with deep-bodied actinopterygians, this specimen represents the earliest known occurrence of one such fish. Its presence in the earliest Carboniferous indicates that actinopterygians wer

SUBMITTER: Wilson CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8052371 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature