New enchodontoid fish (Teleostei: Aulopiformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon

A new enchodontoid, dagger Spinascutichthys pankowskiae gen. et sp. nov. is described from the marine Cenomanian deposits of the En Nammoura locality, Lebanon. The enchodontoid is small, but fully ossified, and armoured with rows of scutes bearing strong spines along the back, flanks, and ventral surface of the tail. The long, slender body and elongate jaws are similar to those of dercetids, but the predorsal scutes and ventral prongs on the dentary indicate relationship with enchodontids. Although more, or better, characters are needed to resolve the phylogeny and monophyly of the dagger Enchodontoidei, the family dagger Enchodontidae is found to be monophyletic, but a monophyletic dagger Dercetidae is not recovered. The new taxon is resolved in a phylogenetic analysis as the sister group to dagger Nardorex. This small, armoured fish supports the interpretation of En Nammoura as having a shallower water environment than that represented at the two similarly aged Lebanese deposits of Hakel and Hadjula.