Comparative osteology of Acanthodraco dewitti and relationships within the gymnodraconins (Pisces: Bathydraconidae)
O.S. Voskoboinikova & K.E. Skora
Abstract. The structure of the bony skeleton of the recently described monotypic genus Acanthodraco Skora was examined and compared with that of two other monotypic genera of the subfamily Gymnodraconinae, Psilodraco and Gymnodraco. It is found that the genus Acanthodraco is clearly distinguished from two other genera by the separated lateral ethmoids, hook-like shape of the sphenotic, lack of the articulation between the prootic and intercalar, absence of the hook-like process of the hyomandibular and presence of additional spines on the opercular bones. In the osteological characters Acanthodraco is more related to Psilodraco than to Gymnodraco. Evolutionary trends in the gymnodraconins are discussed.
Zoosystematica Rossica, 1996, 5(1): 203–208 ▪ Published in print 25 June 1996
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