Waitakia beelzebub, Lin & Nolf & Steurbaut, 2022

Lin, Chien-Hsiang & Nolf, Dirk, 2022, Middle and late Eocene fish otoliths from the eastern and southern USA, European Journal of Taxonomy 814, pp. 1-122 : 71-72

Waitakia beelzebub sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:37227549-BE44-47BF-B1F7-58508E5D72FE

Fig. 23I–M

Gobiidae indet. – Ebersole et al. 2019: 204, fig. 70o–p.

Diagnosis

OL/OH = 1.19–1.37, OsL/CaL = 1.10–1.29. Trapezoid otoliths with blunt anterior rim. Posterior rim with strong postero-ventral angle. Sulcus well divided into ostium and cauda. Ostium tilting towards antero-ventral rim; wider and longer than cauda.

Etymology

Refers to the locality Devil’s Hole, where one of the paratypes was collected.

Material examined

Holotype UNITED STATES OF AMERICA • Right otolith; Virginia, Pamunkey River, 1 km E of Eanes property ; Bed A, sample 1; Fig. 23I ; IRSNB P 10117 .

Paratypes UNITED STATES OF AMERICA • 4 otoliths of which three are figured: Fig. 23J–L ; same collection data as for holotype; IRSNB P 10118–10120 • 1 otolith: Fig. 23M ; Virginia, Pamunkey River, Devil’s Hole; Piney Point Formation ; IRSNB P 10121 .

Type locality and horizon

United States of America, Pamunkey River, 1 km E of Eanes property (Virginia), Bed A, sample 1 ( Fig. 7 ); see also Strickland (1985), loc. 37, Piney Point Formation.

Dimensions of the holotype

Length = 2.04 mm; height = 1.56 mm; thickness = 0.59 mm.

Description

The shape of the otoliths is trapezoid, with their dorsal and ventral rims approximately parallel to each other and with oblique anterior and posterior rims. The ventral rim is much longer than the dorsal one. There is a well-incised notch in the middle of the posterior rim. Below this notch, there is a conspicuous large and strong postero-ventral angle at the junction with the ventral rim, and extending far backwards below the upper portion of the posterior rim. The anterior part of the dorsal rim is slightly inclined towards the junction with the anterior rim. The margins are smooth, but somewhat more irregular on the dorsal rim of the holotype. The thickness of the otoliths is considerable; both the inner and outer faces are clearly convex in the dorso-ventral direction. The sulcus has well-developed cristae and there is a clear division into an ostial and caudal part, which is marked by a constriction of the cristae in the central zone of the sulcus. The ostium is large and expanded ventrally. The ostial crista superior is sharply inclined and directs ventrally. The anterior end of the ostium nearly reaches the anterior rim of the otolith. The cauda is narrower than the ostium; it is horizontally directed and shows a rounded posterior end; also, there is no trace of a swollen collicular crest like in gobiids. The dorsal area is wider than the ventral one because the sulcus is located more ventrally.

Remarks

At a first glance, the conspicuous shape of these otoliths suggests a possible relationship with gobiiforms, but there is no gobiiform with a strong dorso-ventral convexity of the inner face and also, the sulcus does not match with that taxon. Finally, we opted for hemerocoetids because of some similarity with the sulcus pattern of Bembrops Steindachner, 1876 , and also with otoliths that Schwarzhans (2019a: figs 95, 97) described from New Zealand as the apparently extinct genera Krebsiella and Waitakia and classified in the family Hemerocoetidae , which Nelson et al. (2016) consider as a subfamily of the Percophidae . See also Nolf (2013: pls 306–307) and Schwarzhans (2019c: pl. 3), where various otoliths of recent and fossil hemerocoetids are figured. Ebersole et al. (2019: fig. 70o–p) reported a single similar otolith from the “upper” Lisbon Formation, Alabama, which we believe also belongs to this new species, based on the above description. The species is rare: only six specimens were found in our material.

Stratigraphic and geographic distribution

Lutetian: Piney Point Formation, Virginia. Bartonian: “upper” Lisbon Formation, Alabama.

Figures

Fig. 23. Fish otoliths from the US middle and upper Eocene. A–D. Brachypleura nana (Müller, 1999), Piney Point F., Virginia. A–C. Pamunkey River, Devil’s Hole (IRSNB P 10131–10133). D. Pamunkey River, SW of Pampatike Landing (IRSNB P 10134). E–F. Soleidae indet., Piney Point F., Pamunkey River, Devil’s Hole, Virginia (IRSNB P 10135–10136). G–H. Bothidae indet., Moodys Branch F., Melvin (SE of town), Alabama (IRSNB P 10137–10138). I–M. Waitakia beelzebub sp. nov., Piney Point F., Virginia. I–L. Pamunkey River, 1 km E of Eanes property (IRSNB P 10117–10120). M. Pamunkey River, Devil’s Hole (IRSNB P 10121). I. Holotype (IRSBN P 10117). J–M. Paratypes (IRSNB P 10118– 10121). 1 = ventral view; 2 = inner view; 3 = anterior view. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 7. Measured section at the Pamunkey River, 1 km E of Eanes property, Virginia (after Strickland 1985, loc. 37).