Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of certain neoteleostean fishes from the Upper Cretaceous of Sendenhorst, Germany

The current study presents the morphology of Telepholis, Cheirotrix, Sardinioides, Tachynectes, Ichthyotringa, Omosoma, and Berycopsis. A new species of Berycopsis, B. paucoradius, is described. Data of certain fishes from Sendenhorst were entered into a cladistic analysis using PAUP software. Sixteen Cretaceous (Telepholis, Sardinioides, Ichthyotringa, Berycopsis), Paleogene (Beckerophotus, Neocassandra), and extant euteleost taxa (Vinciguerria, Chauliodus, Alepisaurus, Notolepis, Melamphaes, Polymixia, Scopelengys, Neoscopleus, Electrona, Lampadena) were analysed for 60 characters. According to this analysis, Telepholis is the sister taxon to extant Stomiiformes. Ichthyotringa is the sister taxon of a group comprising extant aulopiforms. Extant and fossil Acanthomorpha are the sister group of extant and fossil Myctophiformes. Sardinioides is the sister group of Paleogene taxa and extant neoscopelids and myctophids. Berycopsis (Beryciformes incertae sedis) is the sister taxon of recent Acanthomorpha. Other taxa examined in this study with over 40 percent uncertainties with respect to character states, such as Cheirotrix, Tachynectes, and Omosoma, were not included in the analysis. Cheirotrix and Tachynectes were provisionally kept in their current systematic positions, i.e. within Cheirotricidae (Eurypterygii incertae sedis) and Myctophidae, respectively. Omosoma was placed within Beryciformes incertae sedis because of its similarity to Berycopsis.