Spicara cf. gossei Steurbaut, 1984

Agiadi, Konstantina, Koskeridou, Efterpi & Thivaiou, Danae, 2021, At the crossroads: early Miocene marine fishes of the proto-Mediterranean Sea, Fossil Record 24 (2), pp. 233-246 : 242

Spicara cf. gossei Steurbaut, 1984

Fig. 3M–O

Material

Nine otoliths from level 11 and seven otoliths from level 12.

Remarks

The general shape of the otoliths is fusiform. They have a straight sulcus and a triangular ostium, which is characteristic of all Spicara spp. , but these specimens are particularly angular in shape and have a strongly delineated sulcus. The rostrum is more robust in these specimens than in the modern species Spicara flexuosa , S. smaris , and S. maena ( Agiadi and Albano, 2020) , and S. gossei from the Oligocene–lower Miocene of France ( Steurbaut, 1984). In addition, the posterior end of the cauda is very pointed in the examined specimens.

Figures

Figure 3. Photographs of the identified otoliths from the Felli section. (A–D) Ariosoma mesohellenica sp. nov.: (A) holotype, AMPG(V) 2361, inner face and dorsal view; Felli 11; (B) paratype, AMPG(V) 2364, Felli 12; (C–D) paratypes, 2362 and 2363, Felli 11. (E–F) Ariosoma balearicum (Delaroche), Holocene, Israel. (G–H) Gnathophis elongatus sp. nov., Felli 11: (G) holotype, AMPG(V) 2365, inner face and ventral view; (H–J) paratypes, AMPG(V) 2366–2368. (K–L) Gnathophis saubriguensis (Steurbaut): (K) Felli 11, (L) Felli 12; (M– O) Spicara cf. gossei: (M) inner face and ventral view; Felli 11, (N–O) Felli 12. (C), (H), (K), (L), and (M) have been mirrored to facilitate comparison.