Abstract:
The Mykhailivka sedimentary section in southern Ukraine of middle (Bessarabian)
to late (Khersonian) Sarmatian s.l. age is well known for its rich vertebrate finds in
alternating marginal marine to estuarine and lacustrine environments. Here we
describe fish otoliths obtained from sediments from a supposedly estuarine environment
that had already yielded fossil fish bones and teeth described earlier. The otolith
association is dominated by three species of gobiids, which are all related to the
endemic extant Ponto-Caspian gobiid fauna. One species – Neogobius bettinae n. sp.
– is described here. Rare associated species are Morone cf. nobilis, so far only known
from the North Sea Basin, and a sciaenid. All otolith-based species represent euryhaline
groups of fishes that are known today to commonly migrate from marine into brackish
waters or are adapted to brackish and freshwater environments.
Description:
Bratishko А. Bessarabian (Tortonian, Late Miocene) fish otoliths from a transitional freshwater-brackish environment of Mykhailivka, Southern Ukraine / A. Bratishko, O. Kovalchuk, W. Schwarzhans // Palaeontologia Electronica. - 2017. - 20.3.44A. - Рр. 1-13 . -Режим доступу: http://zoobank.org/References/91D1F9A1-D4E4-4D51-811E-4AD9FAEB798F.