Epaelops martinezi gen. and sp. nov. from the Albian limestone deposits of the Tlayúa quarry, Mexico – A new late Mesozoic record of Elopiformes of the western Tethys

This paper describes a new species of the order Elopiformes, which also represents the oldest record of this group in North America. The research is based on two well-preserved and acid-prepared specimens recovered from the Albian marine limestone deposits of the Tlayúa Formation, near Tepexi Rodríguez, Puebla, central Mexico. †Epaelops martinezi gen. and sp. nov. shows two autapomorphic characteristics that differentiate it from other fossil and extant elopiforms: the presence of a triangular antorbital bone overlying the dorso-anterior portion of the first infraorbital, and premaxilla with an acute ascendant process on the anterior extremity. The inclusion of this species within a phylogenetic analysis of the Elopiformes shows that it is part of the stem group of this order and occupies a position between the Tethyan †Anaethalion and the Gondwanan †Paraelops. This phylogenetical hypothesis reveals the possible dispersion route of the elopiform lineage through the Hispanic/Caribbean Corridor during the Tithonian-Aptian age, from Tethys/Mediterranean to incipient western Atlantic (Laurasia and Gondwana). •A new fossil Elopiformes from the Cretaceous of Mexico, †Epaelops martinezi, is described.•†Epaelops represents part of the stem group of Elopiformes.•Its phylogenetic emplacement is between the tethyan †Anaethalion and the gondwanan †Paraelops.•Our hypothesis suggests a possible dispersion route of the elopiform lineage through the Hispanic/Caribbean Corridor during the Tithonian-Aptian age.