Fossil Fish

The newly collected shark and ray tooth fossils from the marine sediments of the Upper Marine Molasse close to Allerding (4.8 km SE of Schärding, Austria) allow for a review of the hitherto known diversity comprising a taxonomic update and the documentation of additional taxa. Besides ten taxa already known from the area, the following taxa were collected for the first time from the site:

The evolution of fishes to tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) was one of the most important transformations in vertebrate evolution. Hypotheses of tetrapod origins rely heavily on the anatomy of a few tetrapod-like fish fossils from the Middle and Late Devonian period (393-359 million years ago) 1. These taxa-known as elpistostegalians-include Panderichthys 2 , Elpistostege 3,4 and Tiktaalik 1,5 , none of which has yet revealed the complete skeletal anatomy of the pectoral fin. Here we report a 1.57-metre-long articulated specimen of Elpistostege watsoni from the Upper Devonian period of Canada, which represents-to our knowledge-the most complete elpistostegalian yet found. High-energy computed tomography reveals that the skeleton of the pectoral fin has four proximodistal rows of radials (two of which include branched carpals) as well as two distal rows that are organized as digits and putative digits. Despite this skeletal pattern (which represents the most tetrapod-like arrangement of bones found in a pectoral fin to date), the fin retains lepidotrichia (fin rays) distal to the radials. We suggest that the vertebrate hand arose primarily from a skeletal pattern buried within the fairly typical aquatic pectoral fin of elpistostegalians. Elpistostege is potentially the sister taxon of all other tetrapods, and its appendages further blur the line between fish and land vertebrates. The first tetrapods known from skeletal remains date back to the Late Devonian period (about 374 million years ago) 6,7 , while trackway fossils showing digitate impressions of limbs suggest an earlier origin for this clade 8. Over the past decade, fossils that provide information on the fish-to-tetrapod transition have been used to better understand anatomical transformations associated with locomotion 5,9-12 , breathing 13 , hearing 14 and feeding 11,15 , with regard to the change in habitat from water to land. Until now, the terrestrialization of vertebrates has primarily been a matter of comparing six relatively well-known Devonian taxa among stem-group tetrapods 16 : a true piscine sarcopterygian, Eusthe-nopteron foordi; a piscine elpistostegalian, Panderichthys rhombolepis; a near-tetrapod elpistostegalian, Tiktaalik roseae; and three true basal tetrapods, Acanthostega gunnari, Ventastega curonica and Ichthyostega sp. Here we adopt an apomorphy-based definition of tetrapods as 'all organisms derived from the first sarcopterygian to have possessed digits homologous with those in Homo sapiens' 17,18. However, these inferences regarding terrestrialization rely critically on the handful of specimens that have been referred to elpistostega-lians, none of which has been completely described. The postcranial anatomy of Panderichthys is primarily restricted to the morphology of the pectoral fins and girdle 2,19,20 , the vertebrae 2,21 , the scale patterning 22 and very little on the pelvic fin and girdle morphology 9. Although more than 60 specimens 1,10 of Tiktaalik have been found, most of the anatomy of this species has been described from a fairly complete individual for which the skull 1,15 , pectoral and pelvic fins and girdles 5,10,23 , scales 22 and the trunk region 1 anterior to the pelvic region are preserved.

The fossil record of early vertebrates has been influential in elucidating the evolutionary assembly of the gnathostome bodyplan. Understanding of the timing and tempo of vertebrate innovations remains, however, mired in a literal reading of the fossil record. Early jawless vertebrates (ostracoderms) exhibit
restriction to shallow-water environments. The distribution of their stratigraphic occurrences therefore reflects not only flux in diversity, but also secular variation in facies representation of the rock record. Using stratigraphic, phylogenetic and palaeoenvironmental data, we assessed the veracity of the fossil records of the jawless relatives of jawed vertebrates (Osteostraci, Galeaspida, Thelodonti, Heterostraci).Non-randommodels of fossil recovery potential using Palaeozoic sea-level changes were used to calculate confidence intervals of clade origins. These intervals extend the timescale for possible origins into the Upper
Ordovician; these estimates ameliorate the long ghost lineages inferred for Osteostraci, Galeaspida andHeterostraci, given their known stratigraphic occurrences and stem–gnathostome phylogeny. Diversity changes through the Silurian and Devonian were found to lie within the expected limits predicted from estimates of fossil record quality indicating that it is geological, rather than biological factors, that are responsible for shifts in diversity. Environmental restriction also appears to belie ostracoderm extinction and demise rather than competition with jawed vertebrates.

This paper contains a collection of 803 citations (no conference abstracts) on topics related to extant and extinct Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) as well as a list of Chondrichthyan species and hosted parasites newly described in 2016. The list is the result of regular queries in numerous journals, books and online publications. It provides a complete list of publication citations as well as a database report containing rearranged subsets of the list sorted by the keyword statistics, extant and extinct genera and species descriptions from the years 2000 to 2016, list of descriptions of extinct and extant species from 2016, parasitology, reproduction, distribution, diet, conservation, and taxonomy. The paper is intended to be consulted for information. In addition, we provide information on the geographic and depth distribution of newly described species, i.e. the type specimens from the year 1990- 2016 in a hot spot analysis. 
Please note that the content of this paper has been compiled to the best of our abilities based on current knowledge and practice, however, possible errors cannot entirely be excluded.

Elasmobranch remains are quite common in Miocene deposits and were the subject of numerous studies since the middle of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the taxonomic diversity of the Marine Molasse sharks, rays and skates is still largely unknown. Here, we describe 37 taxa from the lower Miocene of the Molasse Basin: 21 taxa could be identified at species level, whereas 15 taxa could only be assigned to genus and one taxon is left as order incertae sedis. The material was collected from deposits of the Auwiesholz Member of the Achen Formation (middle Burdigalian, middle Ottnangian age, ca. 17.8 Ma) exposed near Simssee, Upper Bavaria. This faunal assemblage is a mixture of shallow marine, near-coastal, pelagic and deep-water taxa. The fauna from Simssee displays different biogeographic dynamics at local and regional scales, possibly related to the intense climatic, oceanographic and tectonic events that occurred during the Eggenburgian-Ottnangian stages. The faunal relationships of the early Miocene chondrichthyan faunas from the Mediterranean Sea and Paratethys with others regions are established on the basis of qualitative (presence/absence) data. The beta diversity (Sørensen-Dice coefficient) of the Miocene Molasse elasmobranchs was used to characterize the taxonomic differentiation between localities and regions. According to our results, the fauna from Simssee shows close similarities with those from Switzerland, Austria, France and northern Germany. Faunal similarities and differences are mainly related to tectonic events and oceanographic variables (i.e. migration through seaway passages) or might represent collecting biases.

The cheiracanthid acanthodiforms were widespread during the Middle Devonian,
often being the most abundant acanthodians in northern European vertebrate macroand
microfaunal assemblages. Three species of cheiracanthids, Cheiracanthus murchisoni,
C. grandispinus, and C. latus, have been known from the Middle Devonian
(Eifelian–Givetian) of northern Scotland since the nineteeth century. Here we review
the anatomy of these species and show that the main distinguishing features for the
three species are the scale ornamentation, general body shape, and relative robustness
of their scapulocoracoids and fin spines. They also show different stratigraphic
and geographic distributions in the Orcadian Basin. All three species appear at the
base of the Coccosteus cuspidatus + Pterichthyodes milleri placoderm biostratigraphic
zone; C. latus disappears towards the upper limit of this zone, C. murchisoni extends
into the base of the overlying Dickosteus threiplandi zone, and C. grandispinus
reaches up to the middle of this zone. Some cheiracanthid taxa based on isolated
scales from the Baltic countries, Belarus, and Russia are considered junior synonyms
of the Scottish species. The new data we provide should prove helpful in further elucidating
the taxonomic position of cheiracanthids.

"Present paper gives an updated summary of research history on the Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes of the Early Triassic  (Griesbachian, Dienerian, Smithian, Spathian) and primarily of the early Anisian. Early Triassic and Anisian marine and freshwater ichthyofaunas are found on all continents except South America, and much more fish assemblages are known from the Northern than from the Southern Hemisphere. The Early Triassic and the Anisian are times of major importance for the phylogeny of the Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes. After the end-Permian mass extinction the surviving groups of the cartilaginous and bony fishes recovered, and many new forms appeared in the Early Triassic. The neoselachians as well as close relatives of the teleosteans evolved, clades to which nearly all extant fishes belong. Present publication also provides a revised data base for the distribution of Early Triassic and early Anisian chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fishes in time and space on which future research on their paleobiodiversity shall be guided."

This report serves to recount major contributions in the field of paleontology, throughout the lifetime of the South Dakota Academy of Science. The Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science has provided an invaluable venue for the descriptions and establishments of type specimens, poorly known bio-chronologic faunas, and research that covers many other aspects of paleontology. In several cases, the Proceedings provides the only recorded or citable information on a fossil site, taxonomic component, stratigraphic occurrence, or other information not provided elsewhere. We chronicle some of the most notable paleontological contributions through the South Dakota Academy of Science, and the major contributors who fully utilized this venue to make a wide variety of information available. There is great value in providing a venue for peer-reviewed research in a more academically relaxed atmosphere, which can be better utilized for citation. Some research may not be deemed significant enough for journals with more perceived prestige, and this hinders the release of potentially valuable information. Quality of research appears to be erroneously gauged by a journal's impact factor or notoriety rather than the content provided by the contributor. These accounts should not only serve to chronicle contributions, but encourage researchers to service this venue for continued academic productivity and further enrich the academic value of the organization.