The Lower Cretaceous Ipubi Formation (Santana Group, Araripe Basin) has yielded plants, invertebrates and vertebrates like turtles and fishes. Herein we present the first fish remains with precise provenance data from the Ipubi Formation. The material described here comes from the dark bituminous shale located below the evaporite layer of the Ipubi Formation at the São Jorge Mine, in the municipality of Ouricuri, Pernambuco, Brazil. The specimen (UFRPE 4763) corresponds to a post-cranial skeleton, with at least 26 vertebrae, fragments of the pelvic and anal fins, and a well-preserved caudal fin. Based on comparisons with other fishes from the Santana Group, this specimen is referred to genus Notelops , based on the following characteristics: the caudal fin is highly angled relative to the body, perforated, exhibiting a notch in the central region; and in the caudal fin the first ural centrum combined with hypurals 1 and 2 form a large and fused plate, as is observed in Notelops . UFRPE 4763 consists of the first Notelops record in the Ipubi Formation, allowing the acquisition of important information regarding the stratigraphical range of this taxon, as well as a paleoenvironmental indication of marine influence. • Notelops brama at the Ipubi Formation expands knowledge about its occurrence. • This marine predator exhibited generalized physiological adaptations. • The Ipubi Formation, still underexplored, holds significant potential. • First fish remain with precise provenance data from the Ipubi Formation.
Bertotto et al. (Sun,) studied this question.