A new well-preserved sturgeon (Chondrostei: Acipenseridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada

Abstract

In June 2016, the remains of an articulated fish was discovered during field work in Dinosaur Provincial Park, in southern Alberta, Canada. Articulated remains of fishes are very rare in the park, so this specimen was carefully collected and prepared. The new specimen represents a new species of sturgeon that differs from those previously reported from the Cretaceous of North America by the ornamentation patterns of the dermal skull elements. We believe that the radiating ridges forming the ornamentation on the dermal skull bones of the new Dinosaur Park specimen is indicative of it being a different species from that represented by any of the scutes or other articulated material previously named.