Pythonichthys colei ( Müller, 1999 )

Lin, Chien-Hsiang & Nolf, Dirk, 2022, Middle and late Eocene fish otoliths from the eastern and southern USA, European Journal of Taxonomy 814, pp. 1-122 : 27-28

Pythonichthys colei ( Müller, 1999)

Fig. 8E–H

“genus aff. Panturichthys ” colei Müller, 1999: 68 , fig. 20/4–5, pl. 16 fig. 2.

“genus Heterenchelyidarum” colei – Nolf & Stringer 2003: 5, pl. 1 figs 3–8.

“ Heterenchelyida ” colei – Nolf 2013: 33, pl. 17.

Pythonichthys colei – Ebersole et al. 2019: 187 , fig. 69c–d. — Stringer et al. 2022: 4, fig. 3b.

Remarks

Otoliths of the extant Pythonichthys microphthalmus (Regan, 1912) and P. macrurus (Regan, 1912) were figured by Nolf & Stringer (1992: pl. 9 figs 14 and 15, respectively). This was overlooked in the overview of Nolf (2013), and not mentioned by Ebersole et al. (2019), but a comparison with the abovementioned figures of Nolf & Stringer (1992) suggests that their generic attribution is plausible. This species was represented by 90 specimens in the upper Eocene Yazoo Clay by Nolf & Stringer (2003), but it represented less than 2% of the total assemblage. Although widely distributed in the Claiborne and Jackson groups, it typically represents only a small percentage of the assemblages. The genus is also known from the Paleocene Clayton Formation in Arkansas in unusually large numbers (24% of the total assemblage) according to Schwarzhans & Stringer (2020).

Stratigraphic and geographic distribution

Lutetian: “Stone City beds”, Texas; Piney Point Formation, Virginia. Bartonian: Cook Mountain Formation, Texas; Moodys Branch Formation, Louisiana and Mississippi; “upper” Lisbon Formation and Moodys Branch Formation, Alabama. Priabonian: Yazoo Clay, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Figures

Fig. 8. Fish otoliths from the US middle and upper Eocene. A–B. Albula sp. (IRSNB P 9957–9958). A. Weches F., Wall Farm 2, Texas. B. “Stone City beds”, Alabama Ferry, on Trinity River, North, Texas. C–D. Elopothrissus bernardlemorti sp. nov., “Stone City beds”, Texas. C. Alabama Ferry, on Trinity River, North, holotype (IRSNB P 9959), D. Stone City Bluff, Brazos River, sample 2 from bed P, paratype (IRSNB P 9960). E–H. Pythonichthys colei (Müller, 1999). E–F. Landrum M., Pin Oak Creek, Texas (IRSNB P 9961–9962). G–H. “Stone City beds”, Stone City Bluff, Brazos River, Texas (IRSNB P 9963–9964). I–L. Pterothrissus umbonatus (Koken, 1884), “Stone City beds”, Stone City Bluff, Brazos River, sample 2 from bed P, Texas (IRSNB P 9965–9968). M–N. Alaconger fornicatus (Frizzell & Lamber, 1962), Shubuta Clay M., Cynthia, Mississippi Lite clay pit, Mississippi (IRSNB P 10005–10006). 1 = ventral view; 2 = inner view. Scale bars = 1 mm.