Redescription of ‘<i>Diplomystus</i>’ <i>solignaci</i> Gaudant &amp; Gaudant, 1971 from the Cretaceous of Tunisia, and a new hypothesis of double-armored herring relationships

The Late Cretaceous double-armoured herring <i>Diplomystus solignaci</i>, represented by a single specimen collected from a limestones outcrop near El Hamma, in the region of Gabès of central Tunisia (North Africa), is redescribed in detail herein. This taxon exhibits a unique combination of features that clearly support its alignment with the ellimmichthyiform family Paraclupeidae, whereas a new phylogenetic analysis, performed on the largest, most comprehensive, and updated dataset of clupeomorph characters so far established, nests this taxon within the genus <i>Paraclupea</i>, together with the Early Cretaceous <i>P. chetungensis</i> and <i>P. seilacheri</i>. A new combination, <i>Paraclupea solignaci</i>, is therefore proposed. This species is identified by a combination of specific traits that clearly justify the taxonomic separation from the other congenerics. The presence of a Late Cretaceous species of <i>Paraclupea</i> in the Tethyan realm extends the biogeographic and temporal range of this widely distributed genus, providing additional information for our understanding of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of <i>Paraclupea</i>.