An Oligocene toadfish (Teleostei, Percomorpha) from Moravia, Czech Republic: The earliest skeletal record for the order Batrachoidiformes
Abstract
The fossil record of toadfishes (Batrachoidiformes) is meager, with only scarce skeletal remains. The Menilitic Formation (DynOw Member) has provided the first and only Oligocene articulated skeleton of a toadfish, described herein as Louckaichthys novosadi gem et sp. nov. based on an incomplete partially articulated skeleton.
The new taxon is characterized by a peculiar combination of features that clearly demonstrates its distinct generic status within the Batrachoidiformes, including: oblong subopercle with a single spine and no filaments; opercle with two spines and a single filament; preopercle with well-developed articular pedicel at the confluence of the vertical and horizontal arms; robust hyomandibula with well-developed articular, opercular and preopercular processes; and at least two pairs of epineurals hypertrophied and robust. Furthermore, the unique combination of features does not allow the inclusion of this new taxon within any of the known extant subfamilies.