A new species of black drum (Acanthuriformes: Sciaenidae: <i>Pogonias</i> Lacépède, 1802) from the Upper Miocene of Argentina

<i>Pogonias blettleri</i> sp. nov., a new species of black drum (Acanthuriformes, Sciaenidae) from the marine Upper Miocene Paraná Formation, which crops out in the Province of Entre Ríos, Argentina, is described. The holotype specimen comprises a large and nearly complete skull articulated with the anterior vertebral column and associated with fragmentary remains of the pectoral and pelvic girdles, as well as a complete pectoral fin. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses including several Western Atlantic sciaenid taxa confirm the assignment of the fossil specimen to the genus <i>Pogonias</i> Lacépède, 1802, as the sister taxon to the clade of <i>Pogonias cromis</i> + <i>Pogonias courbina</i>. The erection of a new species is based on the presence of a combination of primitive and derived characters, such as: the sub-triangular dorsal outline of the anterior neurocranium, with the lateral borders of frontals delimiting an isosceles triangle; the cavernous frontals with wide bridge-like bony struts; a conspicuous dorsal protuberance of frontals; a crescent-shaped preoperculum, with a smooth posterior margin and a strongly thickened anteroventral edge; and a robust and craniocaudally wide hyomandibula, with a strongly ossified anterior expansion. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the upper levels of the Paraná Formation suggests that <i>P. blettleri</i> sp. nov. inhabited brackish and shallow waters in estuarine environments, particularly in areas near large river run-offs. The known palaeontological content from this unit includes potential prey of the black drum, suggesting that <i>P. blettleri</i> sp. nov. likely fed on annelids, crabs, molluscs, and small fish, similar to its extant counterparts. https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3AA77DDD-4FDA-4CFD-AC7F-476F432B950B