Kem Kem beds: fish experts needed

[gigantoraptor]

Hello all

 

Here is have 2 single vertebrae and one string of vertebrae from unknown fish species from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) Kem Kem beds in Morocco. There are very many fish species in this assemblage, and I don't really expect a specific species, but I would like to know if it's possible to determine family level for example.

 

First vertebra:

Here is a side view and a view from both front and back. Both front and back are hollow.

It's 3.6 cm high, 2.2 wide and 1.2 deep.

 

Second vertebra:

One side is negative, other side is positive.

It's 1.6 cm high, 2.2 cm wide and 1.2 deep.

 

 

 

Third is a vertebrae string.

Size is 17 cm by 4 cm by 3 cm. Associated material is very rare at this place, so this is certainly an uncommon piece. I'm happy with it regardless, but it's been sold as coelacanth (Mawsonia lavocati). I'm not certain if this is correct, since the very few coelacanth I've seen seem to have some kind of tube rather than real vertebrae. Not sure if that's really the case. I aso wonder what those bony plates are, maybe it can help to ID the piece.

 

[jdp]

Not a coelacanth; they don't have ossified vertebral centra. First looks like shark, last looks like some sort of teleost, although I can't help you further than that. Second one might be a gar of some sort.

[RuMert]

The 2nd one looks procoelus, so could be mosasaur

[LordTrilobite]

14 hours ago, gigantoraptor said:

First vertebra:

Second vertebra:

Third is a vertebrae string.

I dunno about the first one.

 

The second one is from a type of gar. So perhaps Dentilepisosteus kemkemensis would be a possibility. But I'm not sure you can confidently put a specific name on it.

 

The third one looks like a type of ray finned fish.

5 hours ago, RuMert said:

The 2nd one looks procoelus, so could be mosasaur

There are no mosasaurs in the Kem Kem beds. It's the wrong time frame.

[gigantoraptor]

10 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

I dunno about the first one.

 

The second one is from a type of gar. So perhaps Dentilepisosteus kemkemensis would be a possibility. But I'm not sure you can confidently put a specific name on it.

 

The third one looks like a type of ray finned fish.

 

 

On 23-11-2020 at 9:17 PM, jdp said:

Not a coelacanth; they don't have ossified vertebral centra. First looks like shark, last looks like some sort of teleost, although I can't help you further than that. Second one might be a gar of some sort.

Gar seems to be spot on. For the other ones you have the same ideas I had. Thanks for the help guys.

[PaleoNoel]

I'm not sure about #1 being shark as almost all of the verts i've ever seen are not preserved with any processes, but I could totally be wrong about that observation. 

I agree with gar for #2, looks similar to what one may find in the Lance or Hell Creek formations. I wasn't sure if they had them in the kem kem but based on what others have said I'm confident in that ID. 

That articulated set of verts is sweet! If the others are right in that coelocanths don't have ossified verts, then it could potentially belong to a ray finned fish like aidachar or bawitius.