A revision of the Upper Cretaceous lepidosirenid lungfishes from the Quseir Formation, Western Desert, central Egypt

We evaluate new lungfish remains from the Upper Cretaceous Quseir Formation in the Western Dessert of southern Egypt. Taxa include Lavocatodus protopteroides, L. humei, L. giganteus, and Protopterus nigeriensis. We treat Lavocatodus as members of Lepidosirenidae based on the presence of a well-defined medial articular surface, in the absence of a symphyseal surface of corresponding prearticular bones. Material of L. protopteroides represents the first example of an adult specimen, supporting the retention of the species as valid, and not a junior synonym of L. humei. Specimens of L. humei are the most abundant in the assemblage, and all exhibit the medial articular surface, a feature that is absent from specimens of Ceratodus; therefore, we reassign additional specimens of ‘C.’ humei to Lavocatodus. New specimens of L. giganteus extend the temporal and spatial ranges of the species (the type material of L. giganteus is from Paleocene deposits of In Farghas, Mali). Finally, a new specimen of Protop...