Leptolepis inaequalis (Weiler, 1954)

Schwarzhans, Werner & Keupp, Helmut, 2022, Early teleost otolith morphogenesis observed in the Jurassic of Franconia, Bavaria, southern Germany, Zitteliana 96, pp. 51-67 : 51

Leptolepis inaequalis (Weiler, 1954)

Plate 3, figs 9-11

Otolithus inaequalis 1954 Otolithus (inc.sed.) inaequalis - Weiler: pl. 4, fig. 170.

Otolithus calloviensis 1956 Otolithus calloviensis - Schröder: pl. 6, figs 17-18.

Otolithus puenzendorfensis 1956 Otolithus pünzendorfensis - Schröder: pl. 7, fig. 39.

Leptolepis inaequalis 2018 Leptolepis inaequalis (Weiler, 1954) - Schwarzhans: fig. 2E.

Material.

4 specimens: Weiler’s holotype of Ot. inaequalis from the Callovian to Oxfordian of Kandern, Baden-Würtemberg (SMF P.3067, refigured in Plate 3 , fig. 11) ; 3 specimens from Schröder’s collection from the early Callovian: holotype of Ot. calloviensis from Pünzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 8, Plate 3 , fig. 10) and 1 paratype from Pünzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 9), holotype of Ot. puenzendorfensis (emended spelling, SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 39, Plate 3 , fig. 9).

Differential diagnosis.

Leptolepis inaequalis is characterized by being very thin with nearly flat inner and outer faces. It shares these features only with L. macrocephalus (see below), from which it differs in its slightly slenderer shape (OL:OH = 1.5 vs. 1.35-1.4) and its shallow and rather long postdorsal rim (vs. rounded and expanded).

Discussion.

Due to the fragile nature of these thin and delicate otoliths, only one complete specimen of L. inaequalis is known: the holotype from Weiler. All three specimens from Schröder, which we synonymized with L. inaequalis , are incomplete because they lack the rostrum, but they do show the typical flat inner face in combination with the shallow and long postdorsal rim. Schröder’s drawing of the holotype of Ot. calloviensis indicates a complete specimen, but the one found in his collection is slightly damaged, which possibly happened after the drawing was made.

Figures

Plate 3. Otoliths of Leptolepis kremmeldorfensis, L. inaequalis, L. macrocephalus, and Leptoelops rhenanus. figs 1 - 6: Leptolepis kremmeldorfensis (Schroeder, 1956); 1: holotype of Ot. kremmeldorfensis Schroeder, 1956 from Kremmeldorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 35); 2: paratype of Ot. kremmeldorfensis Schroeder, 1956 from Kremmeldorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 36); 3: holotype of Ot. amygdalinus Schroeder, 1956 from Kremmeldorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 14); 4: paratype of Ot. bambergensis Schroeder, 1956 from Freiahorn (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 10); 5: holotype of Ot. franconicus Schroeder, 1956 from Kremmeldorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 24); 6: paratype of Ot. franconicus Schroeder, 1956 from Kremmeldorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 27). figs 7, 8: Leptolepis cf. kremmeldorfensis (Schroeder, 1956), from the late Pliensbachian of Buttenheim, SNSB-BSPG 2022 IV 15. figs 9 - 11: Leptolepis inaequalis (Weiler, 1954); 9: holotype of Ot. puenzendorfensis Schroeder, 1956 from Puenzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 39); 10: holotype of Ot. calloviensis Schroeder, 1956 from Puenzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 8); 11: holotype of Ot. inaequalis Weiler, 1954 from the Callovian to Oxfordian of Kandern, Baden-Wuertemberg (SMF P. 3067). figs 12 - 13: Leptolepis macrocephalus (Schroeder, 1956); 12: holotype of Ot. guttaeformis Schroeder, 1956 from Puenzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 6); 13: holotype of Ot. macrocephalus Schroeder, 1956 from Puenzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 1). figs 14 - 16: Leptoelops rhenanus (Weiler, 1954); 14: holotype of Ot. rhenanus Weiler, 1954 from the Callovian of well Bruchsal D 205 (core from 482 to 487 m) near Weingarten, Baden-Wuerttemberg (SMF P. 2953); 15: holotype of Ot. rectisulcatus Schroeder, 1956 from Puenzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 37); 16: holotype of Ot. scissus Schroeder, 1956 from Puenzendorf (SNSB-BSPG 2022 III 40).