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The genus Trichechus (Mammalia, Sirenia, Trichechidae) harbors a modest diversity, comprising only three living species of manatees, and no species currently recognized as fossil. Herein, we report...

JHOANN CANTO,1 RODOLFO SALAS-GISMONDI,*2 MARIO COZZUOL,3 and JOSE YANEZ4; 1Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Secci6n Paleontologfa, Casilla 587, Santiago, Chile, jcanto@paleontologica.org; 2Departamento de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural, UNMSM, Av. Arenales 1256, Lima 14, Peru, rodsalasgis@yahoo.com; 3Laboratorio de Paleontologia. Museu de Ciencia e Tecnologia-PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, mario.cozzuol@pucrs.br; 4Zoologia Secci6n, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Casilla 787, Santiago, Chile, jyanez@mnhn.cl

Genypterus valdesensis, sp. nov. from the Puerto Madryn Formation in Peninsula Valdes, Argentina is the first fossil ophidiid reported from South America and represents the first well preserved record of the genus worldwide. The specimen consists of a nearly complete articulated skull and some disarticulated postcranial elements. A thorough description is given of the osteological features of the species, which can be used to recognize it as a distinct taxon. The fossil species is characterized by the presence of a foramen on infraorbital 3 and by the square-shape of infraorbital 4. An array of morphological features taken in combination contribute to further differentiate G. valdesensis from the Recent species. This specimen also provides unequivocal evidence of the presence of the Ophidiiformes in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean 14 MA.