First record of Ischyodus (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from the Upper Jurassic of southwestern Gondwana

Abstract

This study presents two specimens of Chimaeriformes from Upper Jurassic strata of central Chile. The material was recovered from Tithonian levels of the Baños del Flaco Formation and includes two different individuals, one preserving two articulated mandibular plates, and the second, a fragment of an isolated palatine plate. Morphologic traits allow us to refer the material to Ischyodus townsendi and Ischyodus sp., respectively. These are the oldest Chimaeriformes known to date in the Southern Hemisphere and the first Late Jurassic record from Gondwana. The presence of I. townsendi in the Tithonian of central Chile evidences this taxon as part of the proposed faunal interchange between the northern Tethys and the southeastern Pacific during the Late Jurassic.