A NEW ASSEMBLAGE OF SPANISH EARLY CRETACEOUS TELEOSTEAN FISHES, FORMERLY CONSIDERED LEPTOLEPIDS - PHYLOGENETIC RELEVANCE

Several relevant cranial and caudal endoskeleton characters show that the Early Cretaceous teleosts from Montsec and Las Hoyas previously re ported as Leptolepis and Ascalabos are clearly different from these ge nera, and more diversified than previously thought. The Spanish fishes present a unique combination of characters, suggesting that they may represent a new assemblage of primitive telosts. The study of other un revised fishes traditionally identified as ''leptolepids'' may show th at they are not closely related to Leptolepis sensu stricto. The study of these forms is of great relevance to the understanding of the orig in and early diversification of the teleostean fishes, especially sinc e the traditional diagnoses and phylogenetic relationships of the majo r basal teleostean clades are questionable today.