Clevelandia, Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888

Clevelandia View in CoL ? sp.

Figure 45c–d View Fig

Material 2 specimens Zanclean , Springvale FM , Trinidad, KR-1216 ( NMB P15840-41 View Materials ) .

Discussion Tese two specimens from the Early Pliocene of Trinidad resemble otoliths of the extant Clevelandia ios ( Fig. 45a–b View Fig ) in the shape of the shallow sulcus, the smooth inner face, and the course of the thin ventral furrow, which tapers anteriorly below the ostium and curves posteriorly upward behind the cauda to connect to the shallow and vague dorsal depression. Te otoliths differ from those of Clevelandia ios in being more compressed (OL:OH = 0.85–0.9 vs 0.95–1.0) and showing an elevated dorsal rim. It is, however, also possible that these otoliths represent juvenile forms of a species of which otoliths have not yet been found. Te allocation to Clevelandia is therefore tentative until more specimens have been found. Clevelandia ios is the only known species of the genus; it is an euryhaline species inhabiting estuaries, lagoons, and tidal environments on sand and mud bottoms from British Columbia to Baja California ( Froese & Pauly, 2023).