Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi, Schwarzhans, 2023

Schwarzhans, Werner, 2023, Geology and stratigraphy of the Neogene section along the Oued Beth between Dar bel Hamri and El Kansera (Rharb Basin, northwestern Morocco) and its otolith-based fish fauna: a faunal inventory for the Early, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (4) 142 (1), pp. 1-85 : 54

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-023-00268-4
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03ED255D-3B05-FF8D-9A05-6D9CFDB85086
treatment provided by	Felipe (2025-01-16 00:09:24, last updated 2025-01-16 00:42:03)
scientific name	Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi n. sp.

Figure 25l–n View Fig

Holotype SMF PO 101.256 ( Fig. 25m View Fig ), Dar bel Hamri, coquina at river level of Oued Beth, Zanclean.

Paratype 4 specimens SMF PO 101.257 , same data as holotype .

Etymology Named in honor of Victor van Hinsbergh (Leiden, the Netherlands) for his contribution to the knowledge of fossil otoliths.

Diagnosis OL:OH = 2.15–2.35; OH:OT = 2.2–2.8. Rostrum massive, moderately long, 13–17% OL. OsL:CaL = 1.1–1.4. Outer face flat to concave.

Description Elongate, thin and rather large otoliths reaching 7.3 mm in length (holotype 6.05 mm). Dorsal rim relatively shallow, irregular, slightly undulating, highest at its middle, without prominent angles; ventral rim shallow, gently curved. Rostrum well developed, relatively long and massive, with rounded tip. Excisura wide, broadly concave; no or very feeble antirostrum. Posterior rim blunt, with central or inferior rounded tip.

Inner face distinctly convex, with moderately long, slightly bent, shallow sulcus. Ostium slightly longer than cauda and slightly wider, its anterior opening indistinct. OL:SuL = 1.5–1.7. Distinction of ostium and cauda and of colliculi feeble. Dorsal depression wide, dorsally open, with indistinct margins. Ventral furrow rarely visible, then very close to ventral margin of otolith. Outer face flat to concave, smooth.

Discussion Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi is closely related to U. scaber and differs in being more slender and thinner and showing a more massive rostrum. Te species thus falls outside the range of variations shown in Lombarte et al. (2006) for U. scaber . Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi may represent a sympatric vicariant species to the extant U. scaber , known in parallel from Dar bel Hamri and today from the Mediterranean and in the adjacent Atlantic from the British Isles to Mauritania.

References

Lombarte, A., Chic, O., Parisi-Baradad, V., Olivella, R., Piera, J., & Garcia-Ladona, E. (2006). A web-based environment from shape analysis of fish otoliths. The AFORO Database. Scientia Marina, 70, 147 - 152.

Figures

Fig. 25 Trachinidae and Uranoscopidae. a Trachinus armatus Bleeker, 1861, SMF PO 101.250, Dar bel Hamri. b–d Trachinus maroccanus n. sp., Dar bel Hamri, Zanclean, b holotype, SMF PO 101.251, c–d paratypes,SMF PO 101.252 (25c reversed). e–h Trachinus wernlii n. sp., Dar bel Hamri, Zanclean, 25 g holotype, SMF PO 101.253 (reversed), e–f, h paratypes, SMF PO 101.254 (e, h reversed). i Uranoscopus ciabatta Girone et al., 2010, SMF PO 101.287, Dar bel Hamri.j–k Uranoscopus scaber Linnaeus,1758, Dar bel Hamri, SMF PO 101.255 (reversed). l–n Uranoscopus vanhinsberghi n. sp., Dar bel Hamri, Zanclean, l holotype, SMF PO 101.256 (reversed), m–n paratypes, SMF PO 101.257 (n reversed). o Uranoscopus archionema Regan, 1921, Madagascar (reversed). p–q Uranoscopus hoedemakersi n. sp., Dar bel Hamri, Zanclean, p holotype, SMF PO 101.258,q paratype,SMF PO 101.288