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A New Species of Mackerel (Scomber, Scombroidei) from the Tarkhanian (Lowermost Middle Miocene) of the Northwestern Caucasus

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Abstract

A fossil mackerel Scomber collettei sp. nov. (Percomorpha, Scombroidei, Scombridae) is described from the Tarkhanian (lowermost Middle Miocene) of the northwestern Caucasus (Krasnodar Region, Pshekha River) based on several skeletons. This is the first discovery of a fossil representative of the genus Scomber in the Tarkhanian regional stage. The new species differs from the more ancient, late Oligocene to early Miocene mackerels from the Eastern Paratethys—S. cubanicus and S. gnarus—in having a different ratio of the abdominal and caudal vertebrae (14 + 17 vs. 15 + 16), and wider separated dorsal fins. S. collettei sp. nov. is also characterized by its unusually large teeth and lachrymal.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The photographs were made by S.V. Bagirov (PIN RAS) (Fig. 1 and Plate X) and R.A. Rakitov (PIN RAS) (Fig. 2). The comments of the reviewer M.V. Nazarkin allowed improving the text of the article. Dr. James C. Tyler (Smithsonian Institution, USA) kindly reviewed the manuscript and improved the English.

Funding

The research was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation no. 22-27-00162, https://rscf.ru/project/22-27-00162/. The field excavations of 2019–2021 were carried out with the financial support of the PalSIRP Sepkoski grants (USA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    A. F. Bannikov & I. G. Erebakan

  2. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    I. G. Erebakan

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  1. A. F. Bannikov
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  2. I. G. Erebakan
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Correspondence to A. F. Bannikov or I. G. Erebakan.

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Bannikov, A.F., Erebakan, I.G. A New Species of Mackerel (Scomber, Scombroidei) from the Tarkhanian (Lowermost Middle Miocene) of the Northwestern Caucasus. Paleontol. J. 56, 574–582 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030122050057

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