A new Mesozoic teleost of the subfamily Albulinae (Albuliformes: Albulidae) highlights the proto-Gulf of Mexico in the early diversification of extant bonefishes

We present a new fossil species of the order Albuliformes, †<i>Macabi tojolabalensis</i> gen. et sp. nov., from Campanian outcrops of Chiapas state, south-eastern Mexico. The number of branchiostegal rays, a fusion of the lower hypural elements in the caudal-fin skeleton, and the two types of cycloid scales over the body are features that separate this new taxon from other members of the order. Its inclusion in a phylogenetic analysis including fossil and extant species shows that †<i>Macabi tojolabalensis</i> gen. et sp. nov. is closely related to the extant <i>Albula vulpes</i>. The biogeographical analysis shows four distinct regions of bonefish diversification during the Cretaceous and identifies the proto-Gulf of Mexico as an important place to understand the early divergence of living albuliformes. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:83FA8C48-B9CF-4C6D-9943-818A28A5A113