A rare occurrence of matched otoliths and associated skeletal remains of Apogon townsendi (Osteichthyes) from the Caloosahatchee Formation (lower Pleistocene) of Florida
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.xjvi1874Keywords:
Apogon townsendi, Caloosahatchee Formation, Florida, otolith, Pleistocene, taphonomyAbstract
A matched pair of otoliths (right and left saccular otoliths) and associated skeletal remains (n = 107) of Apogon townsendi (belted cardinalfish) were obtained in unconsolidated sediment from inside the valves of an articulated scallop Carolinapecten eboreus. The scallop specimen was collected in Hendry County, Florida, from the lower Pleistocene Caloosahatchee Formation, approximately 1.7 to 2.1 Ma. The recovery of this vertebrate material is highly significant because no skeletal remains of bony fish with in situ or associated otoliths are known from the Gulf or Atlantic coasts of the United States. Furthermore, the specimen represents the first fossil record of the family Apogonidae and the genus Apogon from Florida and the first report of the species Apogon townsendi in the fossil record. The length of the fossil Apogon townsendi was determined to be 4.7 cm based on the linear relationship between fish length and otolith length and utilizing modern specimens of the species for comparison and analysis. The length of the fossil Apogon townsendi indicated that it was an adult fish upon death (> 2.1 cm). Although several taphonomic scenarios are considered, including commensalism, it is believed that the apogonid died in close proximity to the empty scallop shell, which was followed by fairly rapid washing in of sediment with the fish into the valves of the scallop (i.e., sediment trapping). This determination is based on several factors including the biology, distribution, and behavior of extant Apogon townsendi. The presence and preservation of the two matched saccular otoliths and the large number of associated, fragile skeletal remains in the scallop shell suggest that the apogonid was not ingested and excreted by a piscivorous predator.
References
Albins, M., and P. Lyons. 2012. Invasive red lion-fish Pterois volitans blow directed jets of water at prey fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 448:1-5. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09580
Baldwin, C., B. Brito, D. G. Smith, E. Weight, and E. Escobar-Briones. 2011. Identification of early life-history stages of Caribbean Apogon (Perciformes: Apogonidae) through DNA barcoding. Zootaxa 3133:1-36. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3133.1.1
Betancur-R. R., R. E. Broughton, E. O. Wiley, K. Carpenter, J. López, C. Li, N. Holcroft, D. Arcila, M. Sanciangco, J. Cureton II, F. Zhang, T. Buser, M. Campbell, J. Ballesteros, A. Roa-Varon , S. Willis, W. Borden, T. Rowley, P. C. Reneau, D. Hough, G. Lu, T. Grande, G. Arratia, and G. Ortí. 2013. The tree of life and a new classification of bony fishes. PLOS Currents Tree of Life. 2013 April 18 (last modified: 2013 April 23). Edition1. https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.tol.53ba26640df0ccaee75bb165c8c26288
Bergman, L. M. R. 2004. The cephalic lateralis system of cardinalfishes (Perciformes: Apogonidae) and its application to the taxonomy and systematics of the family. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Hawaii, Honolulu. 373 p.
Böhlke, J., and C. Chaplin. 1968. Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Livingston Publishing Company, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, 771 p.
Böhlke, J., and C. Chaplin. 1993. Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters. Second edition. University of Texas Press, Austin, 857 p.
Breder, C. M., Jr. 1927. Scientific results of the first oceanographic expedition of the "Pawnee" 1925. Fishes. Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic Collection Yale University 1(1):1-90.
Cannon, D. 1987. Marine fish osteology: a manual for archaeologists. Simon Fraser University Publication 18:1-133.
Cervigón, F., 1993. Los Peces Marinos de Venezuela. Volume 2. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas, Venezuela, 497 p. https://doi.org/10.2307/1446324
Claro, R., 1994. Características generales de la ictiofauna. Pp. 55-70 in R. Claro, ed. Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
Conrad, T. A. 1833. On some new fossil and Recent shells of the United States. American Journal of Science and Arts 23:339-346.
Conrad, T. A. 1875. Descriptions of new genera and species of fossil shells of North Carolina, in the state cabinet at Raleigh. Appendix A. Pp. 1-28 in W. C. Kerr, ed. Report of the Geological Survey of North Carolina.
Dall, W. H. 1892. Contributions to the Tertiary fauna of Florida. Part II. Sreptodont and other gastropods, concluded. Transactions of the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia 3:201-473.
Dennis, G., W. Smith-Vaniz, P. Colin, D. Hensley, and M. McGehee. 2005. Shore fishes from islands of the Mona Passage, Greater Antilles with comments on their zoogeography. Caribbean Journal of Science 41(4):716-743.
Dominici-Arosemena, A., and M. Wolff. 2005. Reef fish community structure in Bocas del Toro (Caribbean, Panamá): Gradients in habitat complexity and exposure. Caribbean Journal of Science 41(3):613-637.
DuBar, J. R. 1974. Summary of the Neogene stratigraphy of southern Florida. Pp. 206-231 in R. Q. Oaks and J. R. DuBar, eds. Post-Miocene Stratigraphy Central and Southern Atlantic Coastal Plain. Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah.
Dye, T. S., and K. R. Longenecker. 2004. Manual of Hawaiian Fish Remains Identification Based on the Skeletal Reference Collection of Alan C. Ziegler and Including Otoliths. Society for Hawaiian Archaeology Special Publication 1, Honolulu. 134 pp. Available for download at http://hawaiianarchaeology.org/publication/manual-of-hawaiian-fish-remains-identifica-tion-based-on-the-skeletal-reference-collec-tion-of-alan-c-ziegler-and-including-otoliths-dye-and-longenecker-2004/.
Emslie, S. D., W. D. Allmon, F. J. Rich, J. H. Wrenn, and S. D. de France. 1996. Integrated taphonomy of an avian death assemblage in marine sediments from the late Pliocene of Florida. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 124:107-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(96)00005-3
Eschmeyer, W. N., R. Fricke, and R. van der Laan (eds.). Catalog of fishes: genera, species, references Retrieved from http://researcharchive. calacademy.org/research/Ichthyology/catalog/ fishcatmain.asp on January 5, 2017.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Major Fishing Areas. Atlantic, western central (Major Fishing Area 31). Coordinating Working Party in Fishery Statistics (CWP) Data Collection. In Food and Agriculture Organization Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Rome. Updated January 31, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.home?uuid=fao-fsa-map-31 on February 20, 2017.
Fierstine, H., R. Huddleston, and G. Takeuchi. 2012. Catalog of the Neogene bony fishes of California, a systematic inventory of all published accounts. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 159:1-206.
Gašparič, R., R. Fraaije, B. van Bakel, J. Jagt, and P. Skupien. 2015. Mesozoic-Cenozoic crustaceans preserved within echinoid tests and bivalve shells. Bulletin of Geosciences 90(3):601-611. https://doi.org/10.3140/bull.geosci.1551
Gingerich, P. D., D. E. Russell, D. Sigogneau-Russell, J.-L. Hartenberger, S. M. I. Shah, M. Hassan, K. D. Rose, and R. H. Ardrey. 1979. Reconnaissance survey and vertebrate paleontology of some Paleocene and Eocene formations in Pakistan. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 25:105-116.
Glimore, G., and T. Fraser. 2015. Apogon townsendi. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/ details/185936/0 on January 11, 2017.
Günther, A. 1859. Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the acanthopterygian fishes in the collection of the British Museum: Gasterosteidae, Berycidae, Percidae, Aphredoderidae, Pristipomatidae, Mullidae, Sparidae 1:1-524.
Halpern, B. S., and Floeter, S. R. 2008. Functional diversity responses to changing species richness in reef fish communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 364:147-156. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07553
Harborne, A., H. Jelks, W. F. Smith-Vaniz, and L. Rocha. 2012. Abiotic and biotic controls of cryptobenthic fish assemblages across a Caribbean seascape. Coral Reefs 31:977-990. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0938-4
Harvey, J., T. Loughlin, M. Perez, and D. Oxman. 2000. Relationship between fish size and otolith length for 63 species of fishes from the eastern North Pacific Ocean. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Report National Marine Fisheries Service 150:1-36.
Heilprin, A. 1886. Explorations on the west coast of Florida and in the Okeechobee wilderness. Transactions of the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia 1:1-64.
Hieb, K. 2000. Bay goby. Pp 139-141 in P. Olofson, ed. Bay lands ecosystem species and community profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of key plants, fish, and wildlife. Oakland, California.
Huddleston, R., and G. Takeuchi. 2002. First Tertiary record of Seriphus (Perciformes: Sciaenidae) based on otoliths from the late Miocene of California. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3):68a.
Huddleston, R., and G. Takeuchi. 2006. A new late Miocene species of sciaenid fish, based primarily on an in situ otolith from California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 105(1):30-42. https://doi.org/10.3160/0038-3872(2006)105[30:ANLMSO]2.0.CO;2
Jawad, L., J. Al-Mamry, and H. Al-Busaidi. 2011. Relationship between fish length and otolith length and width in the lutjanid fish, Lutjanus bengalensis (Lutjanidae) collected from Muscat City coast on the Sea of Oman. Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment 17(2):116-126. https://doi.org/10.3153/jfscom.2012009
Kemp, D. 1985. The Selsey Division (Bracklesham Group) at Lee-on-the-Solent, Gosport, (Hants). Tertiary Research 7(2):35-44.
Kolbe, S. E., R. Lockwood, and G. Hunt. 2011. Does morphological variation buffer against extinction? A test using veneroid bivalves from the Plio-Pleistocene of Florida. Paleobiology 37(3):355-368. https://doi.org/10.1666/09073.1
Lacepède, B. G. E. 1801. Histoire naturelle des poissons 3:1-558.
Lieske, E., and R. Myers. 1994. Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific and Caribbean including the Red Sea. Harper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Mabuchi, K., T. H. Fraser, H. Song, Y. Azuma, and M. Nishida. 2014. Revision of the systematics of the cardinalfishes (Percomorpha: Apogonidae) based on molecular analyses and comparative reevaluation of morphological characters. Zootaxa 3846(2):151-203. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3846.2.1
Mahadevan, S. 1961. The pearl fish Carapus margaritiferae (Rendahl), a new record for the Indian waters. Journal of Marine Biology Association of India 3(1-2):204-208.
McEachran, J., and J. Fechhelm. 2005. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico (Volume 2: Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes). University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 1004 p.
Mendoza, R. P. 2006. Otoliths and their applications in fishery science. Ribarstvo 64(3):89-102.
Nazar, A., G. Dharani, D. Rao, J. Santhanakumar, and N. Saravanane. 2011. A new record of pearl fish Onuxodon margaritiferae (Rendahl, 1921) from Andaman Islands. Indian Journal of Fisheries 58(2):141-143.
Nelson, J. S., T. C. Grande, and M. Wilson. 2016. Fishes of the World (5th edition). John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 707 p.
Nolf, D. 1985 Otolithi Piscium. Pp. 1-145 in H. Schultze, ed. Handbook of Paleoichthyology, 10, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany and New York, United States.
Nolf, D. 2013. The Diversity of Fish Otoliths, Past and Present. Operational Directorate "Earth and History of Life" of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium, 581 p.
Nolf, D., and S. Bajpai. 1992. Marine middle Eocene fish otoliths from India and Java. Bulletin de L'institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique Sciences de la Terre 62:195-221.
Parmentier, E., G. Castillo, M. Chardon, and P. Vandewalle. 2000. Phylogenetic analysis of the pearlfish tribe Carapini (Pisces: Carapidae). Acta Zoologica 81:293-306 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1463-6395.2000.00059.x
Parmentier, E., and K. Das. 2004. Commensal vs. parasitic relationship between Carapini fish and their hosts: some further insight through δ13C and δ15N measurements. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 310:47-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.03.019
Plate, L. 1908. Apogonichthys strombi n. sp., ein symbiotisch lebender Fisch von den Bahamas. Zoologischen Anzeiger 33(12):393-399.
Randall, J. 1967. Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Studies in Tropical Oceanography 5:665-847.
Randall, J. 1996. Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong, 368 p.
Rivaton, J., and P. Bourret. 1999. Les otoliths des poissons de I'Indo-Pacifique. Documents Scientifiques et Techniques 112: 1-372.
Robins, C., and G. Ray. 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A., 354 p.
Rypel, A. 2008. An inexpensive image analysis system for fish otoliths. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28(1):193-197. https://doi.org/10.1577/M06-229.1
Schwarzhans, W., G. Carnevale, A. Bannikov, S. Japundžić, and K. Bradić. 2016. Otoliths in situ from Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) fishes of the Paratethys. Part I: Atherina suchovi Switchenska, 1973. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13358-015-0111-0
Schwarzhans, W., and W. Weiler. 1971. Ein ungewöhnlicher Fund von Otolithen "in situ" aus dem mitteloligozänen Meeressand des Mainzer Beckens. Senckenbergiana lethaea 52(5-6):529-535.
Scudder, S. J., E. H. Simons, and G. S. Morgan. 1995. Osteichthyes and Chondrichthyes from the Leisey Shell Pit local fauna, Hillsborough County, Florida. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 37:251-272. https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.mrkd8061
Smith, J. L. B. 1955. The fishes of the family Carapidae in the West Indian Ocean. Annual Magazine of Natural History 12(3):401-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222935508656068
Snyder, D., and G. Burgess. 2016. Marine Fishes of Florida. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 392 p. https://doi.org/10.56021/9781421418728
Stinton, F. 1980. Fish otoliths from the English Eocene. Palaeontographical Society Monograph 4:191-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/25761900.2022.12131743
Stringer, G. 1992. Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene teleostean otoliths from a Mississippi River mudlump. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 12(1):33-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1992.10011429
Stringer, G. 2016. Evidence and implications of marine invertebrate settlement on Eocene otoliths from the Moodys Branch Formation of Montgomery Landing (Louisiana, U.S.A.). Cainozoic Research 16(1):3-12.
Takeuchi, G., and R. Huddleston. 2008. Genyonemus whistleri new species, a late Miocene sciaenid fish from California. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Sciences Series 41:279-291.
Taverne, L., and D. Nolf. 2010. Priacanthidae (Teleostei, Perciformes) from the Lede Sands (Middle Eocene, Belgium): osteology and otoliths. Bulletin de L'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique Sciences de la Terre 80:187-243.
Trott, L. 1970. Contribution of the biology of carapid fishes (Paracanthopterygian: Gadiformes). University of California Publications in Zoology 89:1-41.
Trott, L. 1981. A general review of the pearlfishes (Carapidae: Gadiformes) collected from Puerto Galera, Mindoro, Philippines. Copeia 1981:839-843. https://doi.org/10.2307/1442743
Watt, J., G. Pierce, and P. Boyle. 1997. Guide to the identification of North Sea fish using premaxillae and vertebrae. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Report 220:1-231.
Zullo, V., and D. Chivers. 1969. Pleistocene symbiosis: pinnotherid crabs in pelecypods from Cape Blanco, Oregon. The Veliger 12:72-74.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.