The first Anguilliformes:: II.: Paraphyly of the genus Urenchelys WOODWARD, 1900 and phylogenetic relationships

After the description of Anguillavus and Luenchelys (Belouze and Gayet, 2003), the revision of the last genus Urenchelys WOODWARD, 1900 ends our revision of the first fossil Anguilliformes from the Cenomanian outcrops of Lebanon. Two new genera, Abisaadia and Hayenchelys. are necessarily established to accomodate respectively the species Urenchelys hakelensis (DAVIS, 1887) and Urenchelys germanus HAY. 1903. which are not specially closed to the type-species Urenchelys avus WOODWARD, 1901. The phyletic relationships of that Cretaceous genera are regarded by cladistic approach. They all form a plesiomorphic and morphologically homogenous group, which shows an explosive diversification based on relatively variable structural pattern and which already announces some specialisations of the Recent Anguilliformes. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. Tons droits reserves.