Panturichthys cf. fowleri (Ben-Tuvia, 1953)

Panturichthys cf. fowleri (Ben-Tuvia, 1953) View in CoL

Figure 10a–d View Fig 1980 Panturichthys subglaber (Schubert, 1906) —Nolf & Martinell, pl. 1 Figs. 3 View Fig , 6 View Fig (4, 5?).

1989 Panturichthys subglaber (Schubert, 1906) —Nolf & Cappetta: pl. 1, Fig. 8 View Fig .

1998 Panturichthys subglaber (Schubert, 1906) —Nolf, Mané & Lopez, pl. 1, Fig. 4 View Fig .

2020 Panturichthys sp. —Agiadi & Albano: Figs. 4.3 View Fig .

2022 Panturichthys subglaber (Schubert, 1906) —van Hinsbergh & Hoedemakers: pl. 1, Fig. 3 View Fig .

Material 4 specimens SMF PO 101.184 , Zanclean, Dar bel Hamri .

Discussion Heterenchelyid otoliths have a simplified otolith morphology with an oval shape, a convex inner face, a nearly flat outer face, and an essentially unstructured shallow sulcus that closely approaches the anterior rim or opens to it. Te specimens found in the Pliocene of the Mediterranean have traditionally been placed in P. subglaber (Schubert, 1906) , which was originally described from the Middle Miocene of Austria. However, the Pliocene otoliths differ in being more slender (OL:OH = 1.45–1.6 vs. 1.3–1.4), in the lack of a rostrum (vs. present in most other cases), and in a shorter sulcus (OL:SuL = 1.5–1.75 vs. 1.4–1.5). Instead, the Pliocene otoliths match well with an otolith figured as Panturichthys sp. from the Holocene off Lebanon ( Agiadi & Albano, 2020) and an otolith of the extant P. fowleri , which I had the opportunity to investigate in the collection of IRSNB courtesy of D. Nolf (Bruges). Otoliths of P. mauretanicus Pellegrin, 1930 , an extant species living at the Northwest African shelf are more compressed (OL:OH = 1.35 vs. 1.45–1.6) (for figures see Nolf, 2013). Two further extant species occur along the tropical West African coast chiefly south of the equator are P. isognathus Poll, 1953 and P. longus (Ehrenbaum, 1915) . Teir otoliths are not known. An otolith identified as Panturichthys sp. in Schwarzhans (2013a) from dredges in the Gulf of Guinea may represent one of the two species and is distinguished by its very short, narrow and tapering sulcus. In the light of the occurrence of this morphotype in the Early Pliocene of the Mediterranean as well, all Pliocene records, including the finds in Morocco, may represent the extant P. fowleri except for two figured specimens in Nolf and Martinell (1980), which are more compressed but cannot be evaluated based on the documentation. Because of some remaining uncertainty related to the fact that no otoliths are known of the two extant tropical West African species, I describe the Pliocene otoliths as P. cf. fowleri .