Revision of Furo muensteri (Halecomorphi, Ophiopsidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Western Europe, with comments on the genus.

The first detailed description of Furo muensteri is provided based on new well-preserved material from the Upper Jurassic of Ettling (Bavaria), the first record of Furo from this locality. Previously unknown features (circumorbital series, skull roof, maxilla, dorsal fin) are described. The corrected Latinized spelling replaces the original specific epithet “münsteri,” in accordance with Article 32.5 of the International Congress of Zoological Nomenclature code. Furo muensteri is diagnosed, among other features, by: pectoral fins as long as head; head length approximately 19% of standard length; 12 dorsal fin rays; 61 vertical scale rows from supracleithrum to hinge line; shape of ventral suborbital and position of its pit line; and morphology and arrangement of the maxilla and supramaxilla (gracile maxilla with deep posterodorsal angle and strongly tapered anteriorly; supramaxilla approximately 70% maxilla length, of uniform dorsoventral thickness, and with elongate anterior margin tapered to a point). Comparison with other Furo taxa reveals that F. muensteri is morphologically indistinguishable from F. praelongus (upper Kimmeridgian, Cerin, France). The two species are here synonymized, with F. praelongus becoming the junior synonym of F. muensteri (which has priority). Furo muensteri is also compared to the type species, F. orthostomus, and is currently retained in Furo pending a more detailed analysis of the genus. Presence of a sensory canal on the maxilla provides further evidence that Furo is sister to all other ophiopsids. Furo muensteri is currently known only from upper Kimmeridgian localities of Bavaria and France, except for Ettling whose exact geological age remains unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]