Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Eocene fishes of Monte Bolca: the earliest coral reef fish assemblage

  • Reports
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The fish assemblage from the Eocene deposits of Monte Bolca, Northern Italy, are compared with those of Recent coral reefs. A family-level taxonomic definition of a Recent coral reef fish assemblage is formulated to permit direct comparisons. On this basis, the Monte Bolca fishes represent the earliest clearly defined coral reef fish assemblage. Quantitative analyses of the relative abundance of fish families revealed significant differences between the two assemblages. The Bolca assemblage has Mesozoic links (Pycnodontiformes) and non-perciform taxa are relatively abundant, particularly the Beryciformes (Holocentridae). However, Bolca represents the earliest record of a perciform-dominated benthic fish assemblage (68.4% of all non-clupeid taxa). Within the Perciformes, the abundance of the major reef fish lineages (higher squamipinnes and Labroidei) differs markedly between the two assemblages. The numerical dominance of labroid fishes on coral reefs appears to have been a relatively recent occurrence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aizawa M, Senou H (1991) An annotated checklist of the coastal fishes from Oshima Island and the adjacent region, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Bull Tokushima Prefec Mus 1: 73–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen GR (1985) Fishes of Western Australia. TFH, USA, pp 2205–2534

  • Allen GR, Russell BC (1986) Fishes. In: Berry PF (ed) Faunal surveys of the Rawley Shoals, Scott Reef and Seringapatam Reef north-western Australia. Rec West Aust Mus Suppl 25:75–103

  • Allen GR, Steene RC (1979) Fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Aust Nat Parks and Wildlife Service, Canberra, Spec Publ 2:1–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen GR, Hoese DF, Paxton JR, Randall JE, Russell BC, Stark WA, Talbot FH, Whitley GP (1976) Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Rec Aust Mus 30:365–454

    Google Scholar 

  • Bannikov AF, Sorbini L (1990)Eocoris bloti, a new genus and species of labrid fish (Perciformes, Labroidei) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona. 6:133–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR (1988) Seasonal changes in the size and composition of the fish yield from reefs around Apo Island, Central Philippines, with notes on methods of yield estimation. J Fish Biol 32:881–873

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR (1990) A new fossil fishPhyllopharyngodon longipinnis gen. et sp. nov. (family Labridae) from the Eocene, Monte Bolca, Italy. Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona. 6:149–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR (1994) A phylogenetic study of the parrotfishes family Scaridae (Pisces: Labroidei), with a revision of genera. Rec Aust Mus Suppl 20, 1–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR (in press) A new Eocene fossil fish,Sorbinia caudopunctata Gen. et Sp. nov., from Monte Bolca, Italy. Boll Mus Civ Stor Nat, Verona

  • Bellwood DR, Alcala AC (1988) The effect of a minimum length specification on visual estimates of density and biomass of coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs 7:23–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR, Schultz O (1991) A review of the fossil record of the parrotfishes (Labroidei: Scaridae) with a description of a newCalotomus species from the Middle Miocene (Badenian) of Austria. Ann Naturhist Mus Wien 92:55–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellwood DR, Sorbini L (in press) A review of the fossil record of the Pomacentridae (Pisces: Labroidei) with a description of a new genus and species from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. Zool J Linn Soc

  • Blot J (1980) La faune ichthyologique des gisements due Monte Bolca (Province de Vérone, Italic). Catalogue systématique presentant l'état actuel des recherches concernant cette faune. Bull Mus Nat Hist Nat Paris, (Ser 4), 1980, 2 C, 4:339–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Blot J, Tyler JC (1990) New genera and species of fossil surgeon fishes and their relatives (Acanthuroidei, Telesostei) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy, with application of the Blot formula to both fossil and recent forms. Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona 6:13–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Blum SD (1988) The osteology and phylogeny of the Chaetodontidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). PhD Thesis, University of Hawaii, pp 1–365

  • Brock RE (1982) A critique of the visual census method for assessing coral reef fish populations. Bull Mar Sci 32:269–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Choat JH, Bellwood DR (1991) Reef fishes: their history and evolution. In: Sale PF (ed) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic Press, London, pp 39–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies PJ (1988) Evolution of the Great Barrier Reef —reductionist dream or expansionist vision. Proc 6th Int Coral Reef Symp, Australia 1:9–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis MP, Brook FJ, Randall JE, Cole R, Williams MW, Ward C and Davis M (1989) Norfolk Island fish survey. Rep Aust Nat Parks and Wildlife Service, Canberra, pp 1–29

  • Guiasu RC, Winterbottom R (1993) Osteological evidence for the phylogeny of Recent genera of surgeonfishes (Percomorpha, Acanthuridae). Copeia 1993:300–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman LS, Liem KF (1982) Fishes of the suborder Labroidei (Pisces, Perciformes): Phylogeny, ecology and evolutionary significance. Breviora 472:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulbicki M, Randall JH, Rivaton J (in press) Checklist of the fishes of the Chesterfield Islands. Pac Sci

  • Lubbock R (1980) The shore fishes of Ascension Island. J Fish Biol 17:283–303

    Google Scholar 

  • Masuda H, Amoka K, Araga C, Uyeno T, Yoshiro T (1984) The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Tokai University Press, Japan 1:1–437

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers RF (1988) An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Marianas Islands. Micronesica 21:115–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers RF (1991) Micronesian reef fishes. 2nd edn. Coral Graphics, Guam, pp 1–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson C (1993a) An overview of the early fossil record of acanthomorphs. Bull Mar Sci 52:29–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson C (1993b) Osteichthyes: Teleostei. In: Benton MJ (ed) The fossil record 2. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 621–656

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE (1983a) Caribbean reef fishes. 2nd edn. TFH, USA, pp 1–350

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE (1983b) Red Sea reef fishes. IMMEL Publishing, England, pp 1–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE (1985) Fishes. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Congr, Tahiti 1:462–481

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE, Lobel PS, Chave EH (1985) Annotated checklist of fishes of Johnston Island. Pac Sci 39:24–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE, Allen GR, Steene RC (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. Crawford House Press, Australia, pp 1–506

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivaton J, Fourmanoir P, Bourret P, Kulbicki M (in press) Checklist of fishes of New Caledonia. ORSTOM, Centre de Noumea, Catalogue 2:1–100

  • Rosen BR (1988) Progress, problems and patterns in the biogeography of reef corals and other tropical marine organisms. Helgol Wiss Meeresunters 42:269–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen BR, Smith AB (1988) Tectonics from fossils? Analysis of reef-coral and sea-urchin distributions from late Cretaceous to Recent, using a new method. In: Audly-Charles MG, Hallam A (eds) Gondwana and Tethys. Geol Soc Spec Pub 37:275–306

  • Sorbini L (1983) La collezione Baja di pescie piante fossili di Bolca. Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorbini L, Bannikov AF (1991) The Cretaceous fishes of Nardo. II. An enigmatic spinyrayed fish. Boll Soc Paleont Ital 30:239–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorbini L, Boscaini E, Bannikov AF (1990) On the morphology and systematics of the Eocene fish genusTortonesia Sorbini from Bolca. Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona 6:115–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson DA, Findley LT, Kerstitch AN (1979) Reef fishes of the Sea of Cortez. John Wiley, New York, pp 1–302

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinker SW (1982) Fishes of Hawaii. 2nd edn. Hawaiian Service Incorporated, Honolulu, Hawaii, pp 1–532

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler JC, Sorbini L (1990) A new species of the primitive Eocene rabbitfishRuffoichthys, with the genus redefined relative to the Recent forms and to the other fossil genera (Siganidae). Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona 6:93–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler JC, Johnson GD, Nakamura I, Collette BB (1989) Morphology ofLuvarus imperialis (Luvaridae), with a phylogenetic analysis of the Acanthuroidei (Pisces) Smithson Contrib Zool 485:1–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Veron JEN (1986) Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, pp 1–644

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterbottom R (1993) Myological evidence for the phylogeny of Recent genera of surgeonfishes (Percomorpha, Acanthuridae), with comments on the Acanthuroidei. Copeia 1993:21–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterbottom R, Emery AR, Holm E (1989) An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Chagos Archipelago, Central Indian Ocean. Contr Life Sci, R Ontario Mus, Canada, pp 1–226

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University of North Queensland, 4811, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    D. R. Bellwood

Authors
  1. D. R. Bellwood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bellwood, D.R. The Eocene fishes of Monte Bolca: the earliest coral reef fish assemblage. Coral Reefs 15, 11–19 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01626074

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01626074

Keywords

Search

Navigation