| Mawsoniidae are a fossil family of actinistian fish popularly known as coelacanths, which are found in continental and marine paleoenvironments. The taxon is considered monophyletic, including five valid genera (Axelrodichthys, Chinlea,Diplurus, Mawsonia andParnaibaia) and 11 genera with some taxonomical controversy (Alcoveria, Changxingia,Garnbergia, Heptanema,Indocoelacanthus, Libys,Lualabaea, Megalocoelacanthus,Moenkopia, Rhipis andTrachymetopon). The genera restricted to the Northern Hemisphere (Diplurus and Chinlea) possess the oldest records (Late Triassic), whereas those found in the Southern Hemisphere (Mawsonia, Axelrodichthys, andParnaibaia) extend from Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous, especially in Brazil and Africa. We identified... |
