Anatomy, relationships and palaeobiogeographic implications of the first Neogene holomorphic stingray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from the early Miocene of Sulawesi, Indonesia, SE Asia
- Author(s)
- Giuseppe Marrama, Stefanie Klug, John de Vos, Jürgen Kriwet
- Abstract
The early Miocene stingray †Trygon vorstmani represented by a single specimen collected from the fish-bearing limestones of the Tonasa Formation of SW Sulawesi, Indonesia, is redescribed here in detail. This taxon exhibits a unique combination of features that clearly support the presence of a new genus, †Protohimantura gen. nov. and its assignment to the whiptail stingrays (Dasyatidae) of the subfamily Urogymninae. The morphological and phylogenetic affinities of †Protohimantura gen. nov. with the living whiprays suggest a close association of this taxon with tropical shallow-water habitats hypothesized for the SW Sulawesi palaeoenvironment during early Miocene. Moreover, this occurrence, which also represents the first holomorphic stingray specimen from the Neogene, provides new insights into the role of the Indo-Australian Archipelago for the evolutionary history of fishes associated with reefs in the context of the shift of the marine biodiversity hotspot across the globe during the last 50 million years.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Palaeontology
- External organisation(s)
- University of Manchester, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
- Journal
- Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
- Volume
- 184
- Pages
- 1142-1168
- No. of pages
- 27
- ISSN
- 0024-4082
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly020
- Publication date
- 2018
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 105118 Palaeontology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Animal Science and Zoology
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 14 - Life Below Water
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/6f50134f-92da-4844-afbb-7f213b706b1d