New information on two Late Cretaceous (Turonian) fishes from Lac des Bois, Northwest Territories, Canada

Abstract

Fishes from Turonian deposits at Lac des Bois, Northwest Territories, Canada, have previously been described based on material from calcareous mudstone concretions collected in 1969. A more recent collecting trip to the locality in 2010 led to the discovery of fossil fishes in a shale layer. These fishes, preserved in a different manner from the earlier collections, provide new information and allow reinterpretations on two previously described fishes, Aquilopiscis wilsoni (Pachyrhizodontidae) and Avitosmerus canadensis (Euteleostei). Although the new material allows a better understanding of these two fishes, it does not change our ideas about their relationships. Avitosmerus canadensis remains in the Euteleostei with relationships uncertain, and Aquilopiscis wilsoni is confirmed as a member of the Pachyrhizodontidae.

Keywords

• Cretaceous
• Pachyrhizodontidae
• Euteleostei