Late Jurassic marine vertebrates are extraordinarily well preserved in several Plattenkalk Lagerstätten in central Europe. Among them, the Solnhofen Archipelago has yielded the very rare fish Coccolepis bucklandi, which was the first fossil chondrostean to be found in sediments younger than the Triassic. The type specimen of this species was lost, but it was rediscovered recently, prompting the alpha taxonomic revision of this iconic fish. A new species Coccolepis solnhofensis has been identified among the specimens referred to C. bucklandi. The two species differ in the distinctive distribution of scutes and fringing fulcra. Based on the available evidence, C. bucklandi is restricted to the Eichstätt Basin and the Lithacoceras eigeltingense ß Horizon of the Lithacoceras riedense Subzone (Hybonoticeras hybonotum Zone), and C. solnhofensis sp. nov. is limited to the Solnhofen Basin and the slightly younger Subplanites rueppellianus Subzone (Hybonoticeras hybonotum Zone). Therefore, the two species are geographically and stratigraphically separated. The diagnosis of Coccolepis is improved with the addition of new characters, and the genus is here restricted to the two early Tithonian species from the Solnhofen Archipelago. Among the four species previously described or referred to Coccolepis, the generic assignment of “Coccolepis” australis and “Coccolepis” liassica, remains unclear. Sunolepis yumenensis is here returned to its original genus, and the new combination Condorlepis woodwardi is proposed for this Early Cretaceous coccolepidid from Australia.

Key words: Actinopterygii, Coccolepididae, Chondrostei, Mesozoic, Jurassic, Tithonian, Solnhofen, Plattenkalk, Lagerstätte.

Adriana López-Arbarello [a.lopez-arbarello@lrz.uni-muenchen.de], Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany. Martin Ebert [martin.ebert@jura-museum.de], SNSB-Jura-Museum Eichstätt, Willibaldsburg, D-85072 Eichstätt, Germany.