Enigmatic Listracanthus (Chondrichthyes, incertae sedis) from the Lopingian (Permian) of Hunan Province, China
Abstract
The Permo-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) was the most severe biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic and had profound effects on aquatic vertebrates. However, the sparse vertebrate fossil record of the late epoch of Permian has limited further assessment of the ecological impact of the crisis. This study reports the Shaoyang Fauna from central Hunan Province, South China, for which biostratigraphic evidence indicates a late Wuchiapingian age, approximately 5 million years before the PTME. The Shaoyang Fauna includes listracanthids, an enigmatic group represented by chondrichthyan dermal denticles and commonly found in Late Paleozoic marine strata. The new material closely resembles the Early Triassic listracanthids, which are the youngest known record of the group. However, differences in the anterior fulcra justify the establishment of a new species, Listracanthus shaoyangensis sp. nov. We also used micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) imaging to investigate elemental distributions on the fossil surfaces and found that specimens of different colors show distinct preservation modes. Together with co-existing osteichthyan fossils (e.g., saurichthyiform fishes), the Shaoyang Fauna provides a snapshot of a marine ecosystem shortly before the PTME and offers new insight into fish diversity prior to the Mesozoic Marine Revolution.
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BibTeX
@article{fanggengyu2026enigmatic,
title = {{Enigmatic Listracanthus (Chondrichthyes, incertae sedis) from the Lopingian (Permian) of Hunan Province, China}},
author = {FANG Geng-Yu, MU Lin, JI Cheng, LI Hang, YANG Tao, YANG Shuang, YANG Chen-Guang, WU Fei-Xiang},
journal = {古脊椎动物学报 (中英文版)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.260615},
url = {https://doi.org/10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.260615},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Enigmatic Listracanthus (Chondrichthyes, incertae sedis) from the Lopingian (Permian) of Hunan Province, China
AU - FANG Geng-Yu, MU Lin, JI Cheng, LI Hang, YANG Tao, YANG Shuang, YANG Chen-Guang, WU Fei-Xiang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - 古脊椎动物学报 (中英文版)
DO - 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.260615
UR - https://doi.org/10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.260615
AB - The Permo-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) was the most severe biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic and had profound effects on aquatic vertebrates. However, the sparse vertebrate fossil record of the late epoch of Permian has limited further assessment of the ecological impact of the crisis. This study reports the Shaoyang Fauna from central Hunan Province, South China, for which biostratigraphic evidence indicates a late Wuchiapingian age, approximately 5 million years before the PTME. The Shaoyang Fauna includes listracanthids, an enigmatic group represented by chondrichthyan dermal denticles and commonly found in Late Paleozoic marine strata. The new material closely resembles the Early Triassic listracanthids, which are the youngest known record of the group. However, differences in the anterior fulcra justify the establishment of a new species, Listracanthus shaoyangensis sp. nov. We also used micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) imaging to investigate elemental distributions on the fossil surfaces and found that specimens of different colors show distinct preservation modes. Together with co-existing osteichthyan fossils (e.g., saurichthyiform fishes), the Shaoyang Fauna provides a snapshot of a marine ecosystem shortly before the PTME and offers new insight into fish diversity prior to the Mesozoic Marine Revolution.
SN - 2096-9899
ER -