Open Access

John Griffith

• Carnian (Upper Triassic) fishes from Polzberg bei Lunz have been known since 1886 but no comprehensive account has been published. Eleven species are described nine of which, Saurichthys calcaratus, Polzbergia brochatus, Peltoplellrus dinlmptus, Habroichthys gregarius, Nannolepis elegans, Phaidrosoma lunzensis, Elpistoichthys pectinatus, E. striolatus and Pholidophoretes salvus are new, and two others, Thoracopterus niederristi Bronn and Gigantopterus telleri Abel, previously little-known. New supraspecific taxa defined are: the order Polzbergiiformes, the family Thoracopteridae and the genera Polzbergia, Nannolepis, Phaidrosoma, Elpistoichthys and Pholidophoretes. Habroichthys. Thoracopterus, Gigantopterus and Nannolepis show an unusual skull-roof pattern and are included in the re-defined order Luganoiiformes. Two new ichthyokentemids considerably extend the known time-range of this family. The genus Pholidophoretes is intermediate between the Archaeomenidae Goodrich 1909, and the Pholidophoridae sensu stricto Nybelin 1966. The Polzberg assemblage was probably mainly marine with a small freshwater contribution; it shows less similarity to the Besano and Raibl assemblages than these do to each other. The Luganoiiformes are probably, but not certainly, monophyletic; relationships within the order are analyzed and a cladogram constructed. The Platysiagiformes, Peltopleuriformes, Luganoiiformes and Cephaloxeniformes could all have been derived from a common ancestor at the Perleidus level and are probably offshoots of the perleidid radiation.