Pteronisculus nielseni sp. nov., a new stem-actinopteran fi sh from the Middle Triassic of Luoping, Yunnan Province, China

Pteronisculus is a genus of extinct marine stem-actinopteran fi shes, characterized by the lachrymal contributing to the oral margin. Until recently, it has been known only from the Early Triassic of Europe, Madagascar, and North America, and possibly from the Middle Triassic of Spitzbergen. Here, we report the discovery of a new species of this genus, Pteronisculus nielseni sp. nov., on the basis of 12 well-preserved specimens from the Middle Triassic(Anisian, 242–247 Ma) marine deposits in Luoping, Yunnan Province, China. The new species is the first record of Pteronisculus in Asia, providing new evidence to support the Triassic biological exchanges between the eastern and western Palaeotethys Ocean. Moreover, as one of the youngest members of Pteronisculus, the new fi nding provides convinced evidence to support that Pteronisculus lived through the Early Triassic and survived at least at the early stage of the Middle Triassic.