Vinctifer

Abstract: A specimen of the Early Cretaceous amiiform fish Calamopleurus cylindricus with stomach content is described from the Santana Formation, Brazil. The prey concerns a smaller conspecific individual. Until now, prey items documented for Calamopleurus almost exclusively involved the aspidorhynchid Vinctifer. On the basis of the present record it is suggested that the prey preference of Calamopleurus was less pronounced than previously assumed.

Abstract: The aim of this work is the anatomical, systematic and phylogenetic study of the Aspidorhynchidae, which is a widespread family known from the Middle Jurassic until the Upper Cretaceous. The first part of this work is devoted to the detailed description of the cranial and post-cranial skeleton of the three genera of Aspidorhynchidae: Aspidorhynchus, Belonostomus and Vinctifer. The description of each genus, based on the type species, starts with a brief historical review and the spatio-temporal distribution. Follows a review of the other species with a diagnosis based on characters that define the genus and justify the validity of the species. This detailed inventory leads to a census of valid species, synonymous species as well as to species excluded from the genus. The second part is concerned with the phylogenetic analysis of the Aspidorhynchidae. These form a monophyletic group within the teleosts, whereby Belonostomus and Vinctifer are affirmed as a monophyletic group. The teleosts are considered as a differentiated clade in which the aspidorhynchids form the basal taxa. On the other hand, the interrelationships among the major lineages of Neopterygii (halecomorphs, semionotiforms sensu Olsen & McCune 1991, pachycormids and teleosts) are unresolved. Finally, the historical biogeographic analysis of the aspidorhynchids indicates a Pangeal-type relationship, dating as far back as the Lower Jurassic.

Abstract: Two new assemblages of fossil fishes are reported from the Cretaceous of Venezuela. One occurs in the Apon Formation (Aptian-Albian) and includes ichthyodectids, pycnodontids, asyet unidentified elopocephalans, plus the aspidorhynchid Vinctifer. The other assemblage is from the La Luna Formation (Cenomanian-Santonian) and includes Squalicorax, Enchodus, Belonostomus, plethodids, and pachyrhizodontids. The occurrence of Vinctifer is of considerable biostratigraphic and biogeographical interest in view of previous claims about its temporal range and distribution. Vinctifer ranged throughout the Aptian and Albian, especially in Brazil, where its occurrence may be of ecological significance in marking a transition from enclosed basinal environments to more open marine conditions.