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<p><i>Ceratodus hieroglyphus</i> was the name given to a small, isolated, fossil element from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Montana, USA. This enigmatic fossil originally was identified as an incomplete tooth plate of a lungfish. Shortly after it was named, the species became the type of the genus <i>Arotus</i>. Since then, the holotype has been re-interpreted variously as the clasping organ of an amphibian or the dermal element of a catfish, sturgeon, or paddlefish. We here identify the holotype as an almost complete scale of a holostean fish. The type specimen is almost identical to distinctive scales previously designated as “Holostean B” from Campanian deposits in Alberta, Canada. We provide an emended diagnosis and extended description for <i>A. hieroglyphus</i>. The species is reliably known from the mid-Campanian through late Palaeocene in the central part of the North American Western Interior (Montana, USA, and Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada), the late Turonian in the Canadian Arctic, and the middle–late Turonian (and possibly early Cenomanian) in Uzbekistan. Rare, isolated centra and skull bones previously assigned to “Holostean B” cannot reliably be associated with the distinctive scales of <i>A. hieroglyphus.</i> The ganoid scales with well-developed peg-and-socket articulation of <i>A. hieroglyphus</i> are consistent with it being a holostean actinopterygian, but beyond that its affinities remain unknown. <i>A. hieroglyphus</i> is interpreted as a medium-sized fish (ca. total length 15 cm) that inhabited inland coastal environments and quiet waters and was probably tolerant of brackish waters.</p>

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Reidentification of the holotype of ‘Ceratodus’ hieroglyphus Cope from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Montana, USA, as the scale of a holostean fish

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月28日

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  • James D. Gardner,
  • Donald B. Brinkman,
  • Alison M. Murray

摘要

Ceratodus hieroglyphus was the name given to a small, isolated, fossil element from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Montana, USA. This enigmatic fossil originally was identified as an incomplete tooth plate of a lungfish. Shortly after it was named, the species became the type of the genus Arotus. Since then, the holotype has been re-interpreted variously as the clasping organ of an amphibian or the dermal element of a catfish, sturgeon, or paddlefish. We here identify the holotype as an almost complete scale of a holostean fish. The type specimen is almost identical to distinctive scales previously designated as “Holostean B” from Campanian deposits in Alberta, Canada. We provide an emended diagnosis and extended description for A. hieroglyphus. The species is reliably known from the mid-Campanian through late Palaeocene in the central part of the North American Western Interior (Montana, USA, and Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada), the late Turonian in the Canadian Arctic, and the middle–late Turonian (and possibly early Cenomanian) in Uzbekistan. Rare, isolated centra and skull bones previously assigned to “Holostean B” cannot reliably be associated with the distinctive scales of A. hieroglyphus. The ganoid scales with well-developed peg-and-socket articulation of A. hieroglyphus are consistent with it being a holostean actinopterygian, but beyond that its affinities remain unknown. A. hieroglyphus is interpreted as a medium-sized fish (ca. total length 15 cm) that inhabited inland coastal environments and quiet waters and was probably tolerant of brackish waters.