Otolithes de poissons aptiens du Maestrazgo (province de Castellon, Espagne orientale)

A sampling of otoliths in the Lower Aptian sediments of the Maestrazgo provided otoliths of 18 teleost taxa of which 11 could be described as new species: Elops bultyncki, «genus Elopidarum» casanovae. «genus Albulidarum» atavus, Pterothrissus todolellanus, «genus Euteleosteorum» geometricus, «genus Protacanthopterygiorum» scalpellum, «genus Argentinidarum» bergantinus, «genus Aulopiformorum» pseudocentrolophus, «genus Synodontoideorum» pseudosphyraena, «genus Chlorophthalmidarum» manei, «genus Neoscopelidarum» maestrazgonis and «genus? Acanthomorphorum» forcallensis. This is the oldest fauna for which comparative studies of Recent and fossil otoliths still provide results which are worthy of interest. The more one goes back in time, the more morphological resemblance with Recent otoliths becomes obscure. For Aptian material, only identifications at family level or at an even higher taxonomic level are possible, except for some rare cases such as the genera Elops and Pterothrissus, which can be considered as «living fossils». For this reason, the interest of palaeoecological interpretations based on comparisons with the habitat of Recent fishes becomes very restricted if applied to Aptian faunas. The possible palaeoecological interest of analogous morphologies which are probably conditioned by function are mentioned. Finally an overview table is presented, summarising the fossil record of all Lower Cretaceous teleost families, based on data obtained from both otoliths and osteological material

Sur les otolithes des sables de Grimmertingen (Oligocène inférieur de Belgique)

Twenty-one species of teleost otoliths from the Sables de Grimmertingen are described. Six of them are new : Raniceps altus, « genus aff. Brosmopbycis » brevis, Otophidium caudatum, « genus Ophidiidarum » ornatissimus, Monomitopus grimmertingensis, « genus aff. Neobythites » spina. Although three species common to the Belgian Eocene are still present, the appearance of four typically Oligocène species together with numerous new species unknown in the Eocene suggest that these sands are of lower Oligocene age. They suggest a neritic fauna which lived in calm, somewhat deep water on a soft, muddy bottom. The abundance of gadids suggests a colder climate than that of the Eocene epoch

Une remarquable association d’otolithes de poissons dans le Miocène moyen de Sos, Matilon (France, Lot-et-Garonne).A remarkable assemblage of fish otoliths from the Middle Miocene of Sos, Matilon (France, Lot-et-Garonne)

The Serravallian site of Sos (Matilon, base of the section) is located near to the shore of the gulf of eastern Aquitaine. The studied sediment is a near shore coquina facies with a well-preserved and diversified marine fauna, reflecting a bay environment, with some brackish influences. Otoliths of 22 teleost taxa were identified, two of them representing new species: Afroscion rezeaui and “genus aff. Afroscion” carinatus. The association is characterised by a strong dominance of sciaenids (83% of the total number of otoliths). Among the remaining taxa, Pomadasys aff. incisus and a Gobius (elongate form) account for respectively 3% and 12%; all remaining taxa are rare. Except for the Serravallian coquinas of Orthez and Sallespisse, sciaenid otoliths are very rare in all Oligo-Miocene sampling sites of Aquitaine. Sciaenids from Sos, where Afroscion rezeaui and Sciaena irregularis dominate, are different from those of Orthez and Sallespisse, dominated by Umbrina pyrenaica. Only Argyrosomus regius is common to both associations. In total, only seven species are common to the two localities, and the sparid Dentex aff. maroccanus is lacking at Sos. The two faunas seem to correspond to quite different environments. Sciaenids are quite tolerant for fresh water, and the Sos area could be near to a stream mouth at the end of the gulf. Some sciaenids are even partly freshwater fishes. At Orthez – Sallespisse, the represented sciaenids are very near shore forms, but of normal salinity: this is attested by the frequence of Dentex aff. maroccanus and several haemulids. At Mios, another rich otolith site located more to the north, otoliths essentially belong to typical marine near shore fishes, among which there are even some gadids, a family of more northern fishes; sciaenids are very rare there. Here also, environmental differences are apparently responsible for the differences among the associations

Marine Middle Eocene Otoliths from India and Java

Otoliths collected from the Harudi Formation (Lutetian) of Kachchh, Western India and from the Nanggulan Formation (Early Bartonian) of Nanggulan, Java, revealed the presence of respectively 15 and 24 teleost taxa. Seven new species are introduced: "genus Brotulinarum" siremboides, Apogon townsendoides, "genus Apogonidarum" altissimus, Lactarius nonfungus, "genus Menidarum" occultus, "genus Percoideorum" pseudatherina and "genus Percoideorum" sciaenoides. Both associations reveal very shallow neritic environments. They are compared with a previously described neritic Middle Eocene otolith association from central Western Pakistan, and a combined list of all (43) taxa represented in the three associations is provided. Considering the restricted sampling, the number (8) of taxa occuring at more than one locality is remarkable, and one can probably conclude that we sampled several of the most common and widespread teleosts inhabiting the neritic environments of the Indo-West-Pacific region during the Middle Eocene. Biogeographic evaluation of the available data leads to the conclusion that in the Eocene, the Indo-West-Pacific region was already inhabited by many fish taxa not represented elsewhere, and that probably it contained the most diverse fish community of the world, as it does today

Fish otoliths from the Late Oligocene (Eger and Kiscell Formations) in the Eger area (northeastern Hungary)

Otoliths collected from the Late Oligocene of the Eger area revealed the presence of 52 teleost taxa from subtropical to warm temperate waters. Two successive faunas, which have only three species in common, are identified: the Kiscell Clay fauna, comprising 30 taxa, and the Eger Formation fauna, comprising 25 taxa. Although both belong to distinct stratigraphic horizons, the differences are entirely due to ecological factors. The Kiscell Clay provided an association of deepwater fishes, quantitatively very rich in otoliths of mesopelagic fishes, while the Eger association reflects a continental shelf fauna, in which three distinct assemblages corresponding to the progressive shallowing of the environment can be distinguished. The Late Oligocene teleost fauna from the Eger area shows a striking resemblance with the one from the Late Oligocene (Zone NP25) Saint-Etienne d'Orthe Clay in the Aquitaine Basin, SW France. Notwithstanding the geographic distance separating both areas, 12 of the 20 nominal species (60%) recorded from the Eger area are also known from Saint-Etienne d'Orthe. Species from both the Eger and the Kiscell Formations are found together in the Saint-Etienne-d'Orthe association. This can be explained by the depositional environment of the Saint-Etienne-d'Orthe Clay (deep neritic to uppermost slope), the depth of which was intermediate between that of the two Hungarian Formations. It confirms that the marked difference between the Kiscell and Eger otolith associations is ecologically conditioned. Another very important conclusion is that the Late Oligocene (nannoplankton Zones NP 24 and 25) ichthyofauna must have been quite homogeneous from the Paratethys to the Eastern Atlantic. In the neritic component of the fauna studied, the ambassids, sillaginids and leiognatids have an exclusively Indo-West-Pacific Recent distribution (except for some recent Mediterranean intruders through the Suez Canal). Among the deeper dwelling neritic taxa and oceanic fishes, 10 genera or families are not represented in the Recent Mediterranean fauna. This proves that in the Late Oligocene, even marginal deep dependences of this basin were inhabited by more typical oceanic faunas than today. All these data fit very well with the paleogeographic reconstruction of the Late Oligocene Mediterranean realm by RÖGL & STEININGER, which postulates a Paratethys without direct link with the North Sea Basin, but with an open connection with an Indo-Pacific-Atlantic seaway across the Mediterranean and a pronounced circum-equatorial current system. Six new species are introduced: Rhechias nagymarosyi, Opisthoproctus stellaris, Xenodermichthys senesi, "genus Gonostomatoideorum" aenigmaticus, Diaphus pristismetallis, "genus aff. Raniceps" coelorinchoides

Les Priacanthidae (Teleostei, Perciformes) des Sables de Lede (Éocène moyen, Belgique): ostéologie et otolithes

The osteology of the fossil priacanthid Pristigenys rutoti (= P. caduca) (Teleostei, Percoidei) from the Sands of Lede (marine Middle Eocene, Belgium) is described in details thanks to a nearly complete specimen with a skull preserved in volume and to other samples with isolated bones. A new species, Pristigenys hermani, also from the Sands of Lede, is erected on the basis of isolated bones and otoliths. The two species are compared together. It is shown that the skeletal elements and the otoliths of Pristigenys dentifer from the Eocene of England are identical to the homologous pieces of P. rutoti. The English species is put into synonymy of the Belgian species which has the priority. The evolution of the sagitta within Priacanthidae is discussed

Fish otoliths from the Cantaure Formation (Early Miocene of Venezuela)

The otolith study reveals the presence of 61 taxa of teleosteans in the Early Miocene Cantaure Formation, among which five are new species: Aplodinotus longecaudata, A. hoffmani, Equetus davidandrewi, Larimus henrici and L. steurbauti. The associations reflect tropical near shore marine environments, with a water depth of less than 50 m. A compilation of all available data (Venezuela, Trinidad. Dominican Republic) shows that the Miocene Caribbean realm was inhabited by a teleost fauna whose overall picture was already very similar to that of the present day fauna of the area. At the generic level this similarity is very strong. However, looking at the species level, probably more than 50% of the Miocene taxa are extinct today. Among the 138 taxa recorded from the Caribbean Miocene, only four do not fit in the present day picture of Middle American biogeography: Diaphus aff. regani, Plotosus, Lactarius and Mene. These taxa reflect ancient circumtropical Tethys distribution patterns