Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of dagger Kuntulunia (Teleostei : Osteoglossomorpha)

The morphology of dagger Kuntulunia is reviewed based mainly on well preserved specimens from Madongshan Formation of Liupanshan Group, Ningxia province. Some anatomical features of dagger Kuntulunia are revised. and the basisphenoid, basioccipital, exoccipital, autosphenotic, palatine, sclerotic bone, postcleithrum and separated third and fourth ural centra are described for the first time. A smooth bone lying anteriorly to the maxilla is named the antemaxilla. A cladistic investigation of the phylogenetic relationships was performed on nine Chinese fossil osteoglossomorph genera (dagger Huashia, dagger Kuyangichthys, dagger Jinanichthys, dagger Jinquanichthys, dagger Kuntulunia, dagger Lycoptera, dagger Paralycoptera, dagger Sinoglossus, and dagger Yanbiania), four living osteoglossomorphs (Heterotis, Hiodon, Notopterus, and Osteoglossus), three clupeomorphs (dagger Diplomystus, Denticepus, and Coilia) and several euteleosts (dagger Rubiesichthys, Chanos, Opsariichthys, Thymallus, Esox, and Coregonus). Characters were polarized by comparison to the following outgroups: dagger Allothrissops, dagger Anaethalion, dagger Leptolepides, and dagger Tharsis. On the basis of 67 morphological characters, fifteen shortest trees (183 steps, CI = 0.454) were obtained by using the Heuristic search of PAUP program (version 3.1.1), The results of this analysis show that dagger Kuntulunia is the sister group of dagger Huashia among the osteoglossomorphs examined and that the Osteoglossomorpha is a monophyletic group.