Skip to main content

A new species of the sleeper goby (Gobioidei, Eleotridae) from the České Středohoří Mountains (Czech Republic, Oligocene) and analysis of the validity of the family Pirskeniidae

Paläontologische Zeitschrift volume 88, pages 187–196 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

A new species of gobioid fish Pirskenius Obrhelová, 1961 (P. radoni sp. nov.) is described from Oligocene strata of the České Středohoří Mountains and compared with related species. The new species is characterized by a unique combination of characters that allow it to be separated from P. diatomaceus Obrhelová, 1961. The taxonomic position of the genus Pirskenius is discussed, and its affinity to the family Eleotridae is indicated. The new record documents, together with P. diatomaceus, the oldest known skeletal record of the Eleotridae.

Kurzfassung

Eine neue Art der gobioiden Fischgattung Pirskenius Obrhelová, 1961 (P. radoni sp. nov.) wird aus oligozänen Schichten des Böhmischen Mittelgebirges beschrieben und mit verwandten Arten verglichen. Die neue Art ist durch eine einzigartige Kombination von Merkmalen definiert, die sie von P. diatomaceus Obrhelová, 1961 unterscheidet. Die taxonomische Stellung der Gattung Pirskenius wird diskutiert und Affinitäten zu der Familie Eleotridae angenommen. Zusammen mit P. diatomaceus dokumentiert die neue Art die ältesten Skelett-Nachweise der Familie Eleotridae.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Abbreviations

A:

Anal fin

ar:

Anguloarticular

BD:

Body depth

br:

Branchiostegal rays

C:

Caudal fin

ce:

Ceratohyal

CFL:

Caudal fin length

cl:

Cleithrum

CPD:

Caudal peduncle depth

CPL:

Caudal peduncle length

e:

Ethmoid

ect:

Ectopterygoid

ent:

Entopterygoid

epu:

Epural

fr:

Frontal

HD:

Head depth

hm:

Hyomandibular

HL:

Head length

hyp:

Hypural

ID:

First dorsal fin

IID:

Second dorsal fin

MCZ:

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

MT:

Museum of Teplice

mx:

Maxilla

ncr:

Neurocranium

NMP:

National Museum in Prague

op:

Operculum

P:

Pectoral fin

PA:

Preanal length

pa:

Palatine

PD1:

Predorsal (1) length

PD2:

Predorsal (2) length

pfr:

Pectoral fin rays

php:

Parhypural

pmx:

Premaxilla

pop:

Preoperculum

psph:

Parasphenoid

pst:

Posttemporal

q:

Quadrate

ra:

Radials

SL:

Standard length

sop:

Suboperculum

sy:

Symplectic

syf:

Symplectic foramen

TL:

Total length

V:

Ventral fin

v:

Vomer

vert:

Vertebrae

vfr:

Ventral fin rays

References

  • Agassiz, L. 1832. Untersuchungen über die fossilen Süsswasser-Fische der tertiären Formationen. Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde 3: 129–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agassiz, L. 1833–1844. Recherches sur les poissons fossiles. Neuchâtel: Petitpierre.

  • Akihito, P. 1969. A systematic examination of the gobiid fishes based on the mesopterygoid, postcleithra, branchiostegals, pelvic fins, scapula and suborbital. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 16: 93–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birdsong, R.S. 1975. The osteology of Microgobius signatus Poey (Pisces, Gobiidae), with comments on other gobiid fishes. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological sciences 19: 135–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Böhme, M. 2007. Revision of the cyprinids from the Early Oligocene of the České Středohoří Mountains, and the phylogenetic relationships of Protothymallus Laube, 1901 (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Gobioninae). Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Series B, Historia Naturalis 63: 175–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Böhme, M. and Ilg, A. 2003. fosFARbase. http://www.wahre-staerke.com. Accessed 26 Sep 2012.

  • Gaudant, J. 1978. Nouvelles observations sur les poissons Oligocenes de Monteviale (Vicenza - Italie). Memorie di scienze geologiche 32: 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaudant, J. 1996. Rectifications de nomenclature relatives a l’ichthyofaune oligo-miocene dulcaquicole de Boheme. Journal of the Czech Geological Society 41: 91–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaudant, J. 2009. Note complementaire sur l’ichthyofaune oligocene de Seifhennersdorf (Saxe, Allemagne) et de Varnsdorf, Kudratice, Lbin, Skalice, Knizeci, etc. (Boheme, Republique tcheque). Annalen Des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 111A: 281–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosline, W.A. 1955. The osteology and relationships of certain gobioid fishes, with particular reference to the genera Kraemeria and Microdesmus. Pacific Science 9: 158–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoese, D.F. 1984. Gobioidei: Relationships. In Ontogeny and systematics of fishes : based on an international symposium dedicated to the memory of Elbert Halvor Ahlstrom, ed. H.G. Moser, W.J. Richards, D.M. Cohen, M.P. Fahay, A.W. Kendall Jr, and S.L. Richardson, 588–591. New York: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, D.S., and B.W. Evermann. 1896. The fishes of North and Middle America: descriptive catalogue of the species of fish-like vertebrates found in the waters of North America, north of the Isthmus of Panama. Volume I. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 47: 1–1240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laube, G.C. 1901. Synopsis der Wirbelthierfauna der böhmischen Braunkohlenformation und Beschreibung neuer, oder bisher unvollständig bekannter Arten. Abhandlungen Lotos 2: 107–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDowall, R.M., E.M. Kennedy, J.K. Lindqvist, D.E. Lee, B.V. Alloway, and M.R. Gregory. 2006. Probable Gobiomorphus fossils from the Miocene and Pleistocene of New Zealand (Teleostei: Eleotridae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 36: 97–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, P.J. 1973. The osteology and adaptive features of Rhyacichthys aspro (Teleostei: Gobioidei) and the classification of gobioid fishes. Journal of Zoology 171: 397–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World, 4th ed. Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obrhelová, N. 1961. Vergleichende Osteologie der tertiären Süsswasserfische Böhmen (Gobioidei). Sborník ústředního ústavu geologického 26: 103–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obrhelová, N. 1979. Süßwasser-Ichthyofauna im Tertiär der CSSR. Časopis pro mineralogii a geologii 24: 135–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obrhelová, N., and J. Obrhel. 1987. Paläoichthyologie und Paläoökologie des kontinentalen Tertiärs und Quatärs der ČSSR. Zeitschrift geologische Wissenschaften 15: 709–731.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radoň, M. 2006. Nové paleontologické nálezy v terciérních intravulkanických sedimentech Českého středohoří. Zprávy o geologických výzkumech v roce 2005: 94–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regan, C.T. 1911. The osteology and classification of the gobioid fishes. The Annals and magazine of natural history 8: 729–733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzhans, W., R.P. Scofield, A.J.D. Tennyson, J.P. Worthy, and T.H. Worthy. 2012. Fish remains, mostly otoliths, from the non-marine early Miocene of Otago, New Zealand. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 57: 319–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Springer, V.G. 1983. Tyson belos, new genus and species of Western Pacific fish (Gobiidae, Xenisthminae): with discussions of gobioid osteology and classification. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 390: 1–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temminck, C.J. and Schlegel, H. 1845. Pisces. In Fauna Japonica, sive descriptio animalium quae in itinere per Japoniam suscepto annis 1823-30 collegit, notis observationibus et adumbrationibus illustravit P. F. de Siebold, 113–172.

Download references

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge both reviewers who kindly helped improve the quality of the manuscript. Miroslav Radoň is acknowledged for providing the fossil specimens for study and description. Dr. Boris Ekrt (National Museum in Prague) is acknowledged for access to collections under his care. Prof. Zlatko Kvaček (Charles University in Prague) is acknowledged for information about flora of the locality. Dr. Alison Murray (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) is acknowledged for her comments on the manuscript and language corrections. I am grateful to Jessica Cundiff (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University) for sending me the photograph of the holotype specimen of Lepidocottus papyraceus (MCZ 5262). The research was financially supported by institutional project AV0Z30130516 and RVO67985831 of the Institute of Geology AS CR, v.v.i.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Rozvojová 269, 165 00, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Přikryl

Authors
  1. Tomáš Přikryl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tomáš Přikryl.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Přikryl, T. A new species of the sleeper goby (Gobioidei, Eleotridae) from the České Středohoří Mountains (Czech Republic, Oligocene) and analysis of the validity of the family Pirskeniidae. Paläontol Z 88, 187–196 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-013-0188-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-013-0188-y

Keywords

  • Fish
  • Gobioidei
  • Eleotridae
  • Pirskenius
  • Oligocene
  • Czech Republic

Schlüsselwörter

  • Fisch
  • Gobioidei
  • Eleotridae
  • Pirskenius
  • Oligozän
  • Tschechische Republik