Early ray‐finned herbivores: the dental system of Eurynotoidiidae (Actinopterygii; middle–late Permian, European Russia) and implications for palaeobiology and palaeoecology

Abstract

Eurynotoidiformes are a little‐known group of actinopterygian fishes from the Permian of European Russia, characterized by the possession of multicuspid marginal teeth arranged in a single row. Morphologically, the teeth resemble those of Recent Cichlidae, Acanthuridae, Siganidae or Serrasalmidae, suggesting similar trophic adaptations related to herbivory. Tooth histology is similar to the majority of basal actinopterygians (composed of dentine, acrodin and collar enamel). Teeth are ankylosed in their attachment, and labial pleurodont in implantation, strengthening the tooth. The multicuspid tooth crowns derive from conical teeth of predatory or omnivorous ancestors, analogous to the evolution of multicuspid teeth in cichlid fishes. Tooth replacement in eurynotoidiforms is most comparable to an alternating pattern, with a possible simultaneous, unilateral replacement occurring in the whole jaw, similar to characiform fishes. Replacement teeth were formed extraosseously. Teeth of the inner dental arcade were conical. Based on comparisons with the teeth of extant actinopterygians specialized for herbivory, along with functional morphological analysis and consideration of wear patterns, we hypothesize that eurynotoidiforms represent the oldest known actinopterygians specialized for herbivory. Several strategies of herbivory in Recent actinopterygians were already realized by eurynotoidiforms as early as the Late Palaeozoic (middle and late Permian): grazing/cutting filamentous algae (Lapkosubia spp., Isadia suchonensis), browsing/biting off macrophyte fragments (Isadia aristoviensis), scraping/harvesting periphyton from hard substrates (Isadia opokiensis, I. arefievi). However, notable morphological differences in the jaws (elongate) and tooth arrangement (homodont along the jaw, functional teeth separated) suggest that this Permian experiment in herbivory followed different pathways compared to extant taxa.