Postredectes
{{Short description|Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Maastrichtian
~{{fossil range|66.5|66.1}}
| image = Postredectes_harranaensis.jpg
| image_caption = Holotype of P. harranaensis
| taxon = Postredectes
| authority = Kaddumi, 2009
| type_species = {{extinct}}Postredectes harranaensis
| type_species_authority = Kaddumi, 2009
}}
Postredectes (meaning "last ichthyodectid") is an extinct genus of ichthyodectid ray-finned fish from the Late Cretaceous Muwaqqar Chalk-Marl Formation of Jordan. The type species is P. harranaensis.Hani Faig Kaddumi (2009). "Ichthyodectids of the late Maastrichtian sediments of the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation of Harrana". In Hani Faig Kaddumi (ed.). Fossils of the Harrana Fauna and the Adjacent Areas. pp. 232–239.
Discovery and naming
The holotype, consisting of the skull, pectoral fins, five cervical vertebrae and several scales, was mined from the chalk deposits at Wadi Harrana, Jordan where a lagerstätte known as the Muwaqqar Chalk-Marl Formation is present.{{Cite journal |last=Jagt |first=John W.M. |last2=Jagt-Yazykova |first2=Elena A. |last3=Kaddumi |first3=Hani F. |last4=Lindgren |first4=Johan |date=2018-10-02 |title=Ammonite dating of latest Cretaceous mosasaurid reptiles (Squamata, Mosasauroidea) from Jordan—preliminary observations |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2017.1308011 |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |language=en |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=587–596 |doi=10.1080/03115518.2017.1308011 |issn=0311-5518|url-access=subscription }}
The specimen was studied by Jordanian palaeontologist Hani Faig Kaddumi, who created the species Postredectes harranaensis for the specimen in 2009.
Description
The skull of Postredectes was around {{Convert|17|cm|in}} long, suggesting the entire animal reached around {{Convert|1.5|m|ft}} long.
Postredectes is characterized by the absence of large premaxillary tusks, and the premaxillary, maxillary and mandibular teeth were sharp and equipped with two keels, and occupied sockets in both the premaxilla and the maxilla. The mandibular teeth were also three times longer than those present in the premaxilla and maxilla.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Ichthyodectiformes}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q114836200}}
Category:Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera
Category:Maastrichtian genus first appearances
Category:Maastrichtian genus extinctions
Category:Late Cretaceous fish of Asia
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2009
{{Ichthyodectiformes-stub}}