New fish remains from the Quiricó Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Sanfranciscana Basin), Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The ichthyofauna of the Lower Cretaceous Quiricó Formation (Sanfranciscana Basin), Minas Gerais, Brazil, comprises so far taxa like Hybodontiformes (Chondrichthyes), Dastilbe , Laeliichthys , Mawsonia , and isolated Amiidae teeth and Semionotiformes scales. Here we report new remains of a dipnoan tooth plate and its associated pterygopalatine and Lepisosteidae material comprising isolated scales, a hyoid arch, and a partially preserved individual including several scales, vertebrae, neural and haemal spines, pterygiophores, and associated anal fin. Although isolated or incomplete, these new fossils, collected from upper sandstone levels of fluvio-lacustrine deposits, increase the diversity of the ichthyofauna of the Quiricó Formation. This discovery adds important information to the understanding of the relationships of Brazilian and African faunas during the initial stages of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. • New Lepisosteidae and dipnoan fossils from the Cretaceous Quiricó Formation, Brazil. • Increase of Lower Cretaceous Lepisosteidae sites in South America. • Quiricó Formation fauna is similar to coeval North African ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]