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17 July 2019 Otoliths in Situ in the Stem Teleost Cavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895), Otoliths in Coprolites, and Isolated Otoliths from the Upper Jurassic of Talbragar, New South Wales, Australia
Werner W. Schwarzhans, Timothy D. Murphy, Michael Frese
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Abstract

Cavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895) is a common signature freshwater stem teleost in the Upper Jurassic of Australia. Our discovery of numerous otoliths in the Talbragar Fish Bed establishes Cavenderichthys as only the second known Jurassic teleost and the third known stem teleost with otoliths in situ and provides an important calibration point for the interpretation of isolated Mesozoic otoliths. It corroborates the low degree of morphological diversification of stem teleost otoliths. The abundance of otoliths (isolated, in coprolites and in situ) allows the mapping of ontogenetic effects and of intraspecific variability for the first time in attributable stem teleost otoliths. Here, we describe 284 otoliths, mostly from Cavenderichthys. Otoliths in situ in Cavenderichthys document the presence of sagitta, lapillus, and asteriscus. Three other, much rarer otolith types were also found that have a teleost otolith pattern more primitive than that of Leptolepidiformes; the origin of these is unknown, but it is likely that they stem from pholidophoriform fishes of the family Archaeomenidae. If confirmed, this otolith pattern would provide a further highly diagnostic and synapomorphic character to define teleosts at the level of the Leptolepidiformes and above. Different mineral replacement processes in fossils from the Talbragar Fish Bed aided us in finding many otoliths, particularly otoliths in situ. Given their abundance and distinct preservation, it is surprising that otoliths in the Talbragar Fish Bed have not been recognized before.

© Published with license by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Werner W. Schwarzhans, Timothy D. Murphy, and Michael Frese "Otoliths in Situ in the Stem Teleost Cavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895), Otoliths in Coprolites, and Isolated Otoliths from the Upper Jurassic of Talbragar, New South Wales, Australia," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38(6), (17 July 2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2018.1539740
Received: 28 April 2018; Accepted: 10 September 2018; Published: 17 July 2019
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