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The first fossil from the superdiverse clade Loricariinae (Siluriformes, Loricariidae): a new species of the Armored Catfish from the late Miocene of Paraná, Argentina

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Abstract

Armored catfishes of the subfamily Loricariinae include more than 250 species and 31 genera distributed along South America from Costa Rica to Buenos Aires province in central Argentina. In spite of that, the entire clade lacks a single paleontological record. In this work, a new species of Loricariinae belonging to the genus Sturisomatichthys from late Miocene Ituzaingó beds at Paraná locality, Entre Ríos province, Argentina, is described. The holotype and only known specimen consists on a partially preserved body, with features that allow the recognition of a new species. The new taxon fits previous hypotheses, indicating that the Miocene fish faunas from paleo-Paraná basin were close to those of northern South America.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to A. Giacchino (Fundación de Historia Natural “Félix de Azara”-Universidad Maimónides) for his support during the confection of present contribution. Deep thanks to M.D. Ezcurra, L. Chornogubsky, and AG. Martinelli (MACN) for their help during the revision of the paleontological collections. We also thank Javier Pazo (FHNFA-UMAI) for his help in the preparation of fossil specimen here described. Special thanks to an anonymous reviewer and L. Rapp Py-Daniel, and the Editors J. Kriwet and M. Reich for their useful comments that enhanced the quality of the MS.

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Correspondence to Sergio Bogan.

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Bogan, S., Agnolin, F.L. The first fossil from the superdiverse clade Loricariinae (Siluriformes, Loricariidae): a new species of the Armored Catfish from the late Miocene of Paraná, Argentina. PalZ 96, 259–266 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-022-00613-x

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