A new species of dercetid (Teleostei, Aulopiformes) from the type Maastrichtian of southern Limburg, the Netherlands

Abstract

On the basis of dissociated and scattered skull bones and several types of scutes and scales of a single, large-sized individual, a new species of dercetid is recorded from the lower to middle portion of the Maastricht Formation (upper Gronsveld, Schiepersberg or Emael members) as formerly exposed at ’t Rooth quarry near Bemelen, east of Maastricht, the Netherlands. This new taxon, Pelargorhynchus grandis n. sp., the fifth dercetid recorded to date from the type area of the Maastrichtian Stage, is characterised by the presence of both large, smooth scutes and small ornamented scales, by the degree of curvature of skull bones, the presence of unfused premaxillae and the lack of teeth.