Oldest East Gondwanan pycnodont fishes (Neopterygii, Pycnodontiformes) from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Jaisalmer, western India

Globally, the Middle Jurassic records of pycnodonts are extremely scarce. Here we report the discovery of pycnodont remains (prearticular dental plate, isolated teeth) from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian, ~ 162 Ma) Fort Member of Jaisalmer Formation, Rajasthan state, western India. The specimens from Jaisalmer, assigned to cf. Eomesodon sp., represent the earliest record of East Gondwanan pycnodonts, and suggest a relatively rapid dispersal and a much wider Middle Jurassic distribution after their first appearance in the Late Triassic of the Western Tethys. The new Indian find predates the next younger (Late Cretaceous) record of pycnodont fishes in India by about a hundred million years, and necessitates a re-evaluation of the current ideas favoring a restricted occurrence of these remarkable fishes during the Late Triassic–Middle Jurassic.