The first description of coelacanth remains from the Upper Triassic of Krasiejów, Poland

Abstract

Coelacanth fishes are nowadays represented by only two species; however, in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, they were common elements of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Their remains are known from several Upper Triassic locations worldwide, but to date, they were not known from the famous site of Krasiejów (Opole area, SW Poland). Here, we describe sarcopterygian isolated scales and tooth-bearing elements. Both scales and teeth have typical sarcopterygian features and bear numerous similarities with fossil and modern coelacanths. The scales, from their characteristic ornamentation pattern, can be described in considerable detail and defined as Diplurus sp., being the first occurrence of the Diplurus genus outside the Newark Supergroup, showing that Triassic coelacanths lived on opposite margins of the large epicontinental sea located between modern North America and Europe.