A new non-parasemionotiform order of the Halecomorphi (Neopterygii, Actinopterygii) from the Middle Triassic of Tethys.

The halecomorph fishPanxianichthys imparilis, from the Pelsonian (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of Panxian County, Guizhou Province, South China, was recently described in brief. Here we present a thorough revision of this taxon based on 22 specimens, which allows a much better understanding of its anatomy and, consequently, its phylogenetic relationships. Newly recognized anatomical features include a flat quadratojugal, a symplectic articulating with the lower jaw ventral to the quadrate articulation, five infraorbitals, up to three suborbitals, and a large tail body lobe.Panxianichthysrepresents the oldest known non-parasemionotiform halecomorph and has a crescent-shaped preopercle and a maxillary branch of infraorbital sensory canal, but it is excluded from the ‘Ionoscopiformes–Amiiformes’ clade mainly by the presence of a quadratojugal, a dermosphenotic hinged to the side of the skull roof with a smooth innerorbital flange bearing no sensory canal, and a symplectic articulation much more ventral than that of the quadrate. A comparison with other Triassic non-parasemionotiform halecomorphs, together with the phylogenetic analysis, supports the erection of a new halecomorph order, Panxianichthyiformes, which is the sister group to the post-Triassic ‘Ionoscopiformes–Amiiformes’ clade. In addition,Robustichthys, also from the Anisian and previously ascribed to Ionoscopiformes, is recognized here as a new stem-group Ginglymodi. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5594E962-985F-466D-AC52-2E9A5AC07787 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]