Scombroclupea occidentalis sp. nov. (Clupeiformes, Teleostei) from the Cenomanian (Cretaceous) Plattenkalk deposits of NE Mexico

A new species of the clupeid genus Scombro- clupea is described from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Plattenkalk locality ''Loma la Mula'' in Coahuila, northeastern Mexico. The material provides new osteological data for the genus, which clarify its systematic position. The Mexican Scombroclupea points to an occur- rence of the genus in the western Tethys and indicates a vicariant event between S. macrophthalma from Lebanon and Croatia and the new species described herein. The analysis of the functional morphology of Scombroclupea supports the reconstruction of an oscillatory locomotion mode in this genus.