Otoliths in situ from Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) fishes of the Paratethys. Part II: Gadidae and Lotidae

Abstract

Gadid otoliths are among the most common otoliths in the Neogene of Europe. To date, these have been recorded in situ and therefore correlated with the skeletal record only in two cases, Paratrisopterus avus and Palimphemus anceps. Here, we describe otoliths in situ from three gadiform taxa from the Sarmatian of the Central Paratethys—Palimphemus macropterygius, Paratrisopterus caspius and Enchelyopus susedanus. A number of specimens previously described by Kramberger (Paläontol. Österr. -Ungar. und des Orients 3:65–85, 1883) and Andjelković (Glas. Prir. Muz. A 24:127–154, 1969) are revised. Kramberger’s Morrhua macropterygia is reassigned to the extinct gadid genus Palimphemus; moreover, Morrhua lanceolata is considered a junior synonym of P. anceps Kner 1862. All the Palimphemus specimens studied from the Sarmatian of the Central Paratethys belong to P. macropterygius, while P. anceps does not seem to be present in the Paratethys after the late Badenian/Konkian. The otolith-based species Palimphemus minusculoides (Schubert 1912) is considered as a junior synonym of P. macropterygius. Paratrisopterus caspius is regarded as a senior synonym of P. avus Fedotov 1971, whose otoliths in situ were previously described by Fedotov (1976). The new data allow further synonymization of otolith-based species, such as P. insectus (Weiler 1943) and possibly also P. irregularis (Gaemers 1973). Moreover, Properca sabbai Pauca 1929 is removed from the faunal list of Sarmatian fishes in the Paratethys. Kner’s Brosmius susedanus is reassigned to the extant lotid genus Enchelyopus, with Brosmius elongatus Kramberger 1883 representing a junior synonym. There is no record of isolated otoliths correlating with E. susedanus in the literature; however, a number of previously undescribed specimens of E. susedanus have been identified from the middle Sarmatian s.l. of Jurkino, Crimea.