PROTOBYTHITES BRZOBOHATYI SCHWARZHANS, 2010

FIG. 8H

Material— four specimens, specimen figured, DMNH 2021-09- 30.

Description and Remarks— The four Arkadelphia Formation otoliths assigned to Protobythites brzobohatyi are similar to Ampheristus, but they are distinguished from Ampheristus in the inner face being distinctly convex in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Protobythites brzobohatyi also has a relatively smooth inner face except for the slightly deepened sulcus (especially the cauda). The sulcus has a wide, long ostium and a short, flexed, narrow cauda. There is a very shallow dorsal depression present and a faint ventral furrow on the inner face. The margins are sharp. Protobythites brzobohatyi has a thin appearance with a nearly flat outer face. The species was based on a single well-preserved otolith from the Maastrichtian of Bavaria (Schwarzhans 2010). It is also known from the Maastrichtian Kemp Clay of Texas (Schwarzhans and Stringer 2020a). Its occurrence is now extended to the Maastrichtian Arkadelphia Formation of Arkansas.