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| Nazaria limnica Richter, Cisneros, Kammerer, Pardo, Marsicano, Fröbisch, Smith & Angielczyk, 2026 Artwork by Juan C. Cisneros & Martha Richter |
ABSTRACT
A deep bodied ray-finned fish is reported from Cisuralian lacustrine deposits of the Parnaíba Basin. Its ecological niche and systematic affinities are discussed, considering the paleogeographic distribution of selected Permo-Carboniferous deep bodied fishes from several separate sedimentary successions of western Gondwana. The occurrence of deep bodied fishes in the Parnaíba Basin mirrors the presence of a similarly shaped but less derived and distantly related taxon, Paranaichthys longianalis from the late Permian of the Paraná Basin of southern Brazil. The new taxon’s unique combination of characters includes an elongated pectoral fin; posteriorly inclined suspensorium; deep flank scales ornamented with fine vertical striae, tiny mandibular teeth and palatal crushing dental plates. It shares with Guildayichthys and Discoserra two preopercular bones, a supraorbital, and marginal teeth on the lower jaw. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on two datasets. Dataset 1 included 53 characters coded for 26 deep bodied and fusiform fish fossils from Brazil, North America, China, South Africa, and Australia, with results indicating that is most closely related to the North American order Guildayichthyformes, known from marine rocks of Pennsylvanian age. Dataset 2 included 119 taxa coded for 293 characters. The two analyses place the new taxon as the sister group of a clade comprised of Blourugia and Paranaichthys. However, the results of the study of both datasets show a high degree of uncertainty about the interrelationships between the new taxon and other deep bodied Paleozoic fish species.
SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY
OSTEICHTHYES Huxley, 1880
ACTINOPTERYGII Cope, 1887
NAZARIA, gen. nov.
Etymology—Named after the municipality of Nazária in the State of Piauí, where the fossils were collected.
NAZARIA LIMNICA, gen. et sp. nov.
Etymology—Derives from the Greek epithet limne (‘lake’) a reference to the lacustrine paleoenvironment where the fishes lived.
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| Nazaria limnica, MAP PV1029 (holotype). A, part; B, counterpart (reversed). The caudal and anal fins are not preserved in the holotype. Abbreviations: vrs, ventral ridge scales. |
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| Nazaria limnica, MAP PV1029 (holotype). A, skull and anterior part of the trunk (dorsal crest not figured here); B, identification of skull bones as preserved in A and, augmented drawing of one of the anteriormost trunk scales, showing its vertical ornamental ridges and dorsal of the peg-and-socket articulation system. The hatched lines indicate uncertain bone boundaries. Abbreviations: An, angular; a.In, anterior infraorbital; br, branchiostegal rays; Cl, cleithrum; Cla, clavicle; De, dentary; Dro, dorsal rostral; Dsp, dermosphenotic; Ent?, impression of an entopterygoid?; Ex, extrascapulars; Fr, frontal; Ju, jugal; mt, mandibular teeth; Mx, maxilla; Na, nasal; Op, operculum; Pa, parietal; Pmx-ant, premaxilla-antorbital; Pop1, preoperculum 1; Pop2, preoperculum 2; Psp, post-spiracular; Sco, scapulocoracoid; So, suborbitals; Sop, suboperculum; St, supratemporal; Su, supraorbital; Vo, vomer; VRo, ventral rostral. |
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| Nazaria limnica, MAP PV1029 (holotype). A, detail of the mouth and surrounding region; B, details of the dentition. Abbreviations: maxt?, possible maxillary crushing teeth; mt, mandibular marginal teeth; Mx, maxilla; Vo, vomer (vomerine tooth plate). |
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| Tentative reconstruction of the skull pattern and anteriormost flank scales of Nazaria limnica, based on MAP PV1029 (holotype), after rearrangement of some taphonomically dislocated bones (jugal, lachrymal and ventral preopercular). Short, dotted lines represent inferred bone limits (preoperculum, suboperculum, and ventral limit of the suprachleithrum). The inset features the skull sensorial line pattern. Abbreviations: An, angular; a.In, anterior infraorbital; app, anterior process of parasphenoid; asp, posterior ascending process of parasphenoid; br, branchiostegal rays; Cl, cleithrum; Cla, clavicle; Dro, dorsal rostral; Dsp, dermosphenotic; Ent?, impression of an entopterygoid?; Ex, extrascapulars; Fr, frontal; Ju, jugal; Mx, maxilla; Na, nasal; Op, operculum; P1, pectoral fin; Pa, parietal; Par, parasphenoid; Pmx-ant, premaxilla-antorbital; Pop1, preoperculum 1; Pop2, preoperculum 2; Psp, post-spiracular; Sco, scapulocoracoid; So, suborbitals; Sop, suboperculum; sr, sclerotic ring; St, supratemporal; Su, supraorbital; Vo, vomer; Vro, ventral rostral. |
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| Life reconstruction of Nazaria limnica, based on a composite rendering of characters observed on either the holotype, the paratype or both. Art by Juan C. Cisneros based on Martha Richter reconstruction. |
Martha Richter, Juan C. Cisneros, Christian F. Kammerer, Jason D. Pardo, Claudia A. Marsicano, Jörg Fröbisch, Roger M. H. Smith and Kenneth D. Angielczyk. 2026. A New deep bodied ray-finned fish (Osteichthyes/Actinopterygii) from the Permian Pedra do Fogo Formation (Northeastern Brazil) and its phylogenetic and paleogeographic affinities. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2697805. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2697805 [26 Aug 2026]
