Propteridium sp.

By oilshale

• June 30, 2021

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata Haeckel 1874
Class: Actinopteri Cope 1871
Order: Ophidiiformes Berg 1937
Family: Bythitidae Gill 1861
Genus: Propteridium
Species: Propteridium sp.

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Paleogene
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Oligocene
International Age: Rupelian

Stratigraphy

Menilite Krosno Group
Menilite Formation

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 40 mm

Location

Futoma (Village)
Rzeszów (County)
Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Province)
Poland

• futoma
• menilite
• oligocene
• poland
• propteridium
• rupelian
• tff-oilshale-ch2558

Comments

Very probably Propteridium profondae Ciobanu, 1970.

Taxonomy according to Přikryl, 2018.

From Fahay, 2007, p. 649: “The order Ophidiiformes (sensu Cohen and Nielsen 1978; Nielsen et al., 1999) contains the suborders Bythitoidei, viviparous forms with an external intromittent organ, and Ophidioidei, oviparous forms with pelvic fins at level of preopercle or farther anterior, and caudal fin confluent with dorsal and anal fins.”

Description of Propterides profondae according to Přikryl and Carnevale, 2018, p. 482: “The head is more or less triangular in shape; its length is contained about four times in SL. The cranial bones are difficult to recognize due to inadequate preservation. The ethmoid region is thick and expanded. The vomer is edentulous. The orbit is rather large; its diameter equals the snout length. The frontals are expanded posteriorly, becoming narrow in the orbital region. The mouth gape is slightly oblique and extends posteriorly at the level of the midlength of the orbit. The premaxilla is poorly preserved and bears a single row of tiny and well-spaced teeth. The maxilla is distally expanded and spatulate. The lower jaw protrudes anteriorly beyond the anterior margin of the upper jaw. The lower jaw joint is located at the level of the midlength of the orbit. The dentary is relatively low. The dentary teeth seem to be similar to those of the upper jaw. There are eight branchiostegal rays.

The vertebral column consists of approximately 47 (12 abdominal plus 35 caudal) vertebrae. The vertebral centra are rectangular, longer than high, becoming smaller and more elongate posteriorly. The five posterior abdominal vertebrae bear large and approximately triangular parapophyses with distally pointed tips (Fig. 6A). Pointed dorsal prezygapophyses are well-developed throughout the vertebral column, whereas ventral prezygapophyses solely characterize the caudal centra (Fig. 6B, C). There are about seven pairs of ribs, of which the posterior rib is associated with the penultimate abdominal vertebra (Fig. 6A). Fragments of intermuscular bones are also preserved; however, their original number and relative position is difficult to interpret.
The median fins and their internal supports are only partially preserved. The caudal fin and its skeletal support are not preserved. The preserved portion of the dorsal fin originates above the seventh or eighth abdominal vertebra, although it seems to be slightly displaced from its original position. About 50 dorsal-fin rays can be recognized, although their original number was certainly higher. The size and limits of the anal fin can be recognized, but due to inadequate preservation it is not possible to interpret the actual number of anal-fin rays and the morphology and configuration of the anal-fin pterygiophores. The dorsal-fin rays appear to be longer than their opposite anal-fin rays.

The pectoral fin contains about 17 elongated rays that extend posteriorly beyond the tenth abdominal vertebra. The structure of the pectoral girdle is unclear.

The pelvic fins are thoracic and contain two filamentous rays. The basipterygia are not recognizable.

Thin and small cycloid scales are preserved in caudal region of the body (at the level of the vertebrae 20th to 23th).”

Identified by T. Přikryl (Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) as Propteridium sp.

References:

Fahay, M. P. (2007): Early stages of fishes in the Western North Atlantic Ocean: Davis Strait, Southern Greenland and Flemish Cap to Cape Hatteras. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1696 p.

Arambourg, C. (1967): Les Poissons oligocénes de lʼIran. Notes et mémoires sur le Moyen-Orient 8, 9–247.

Ciobanu, M. (1970): Date noi asupra peştilor fosili din Oligocenul dela Piatra Neamţ (II). Studii şi Cercetari 1, 67–90.

Ciobanu, M. (1977): Fauna Fosila din Oligocenul de la Piatra Neamt. 1-159.

Přikryl, T. & Carnevale, G. (2018): Ophidiiform fishes from the Oligocene–early Miocene of Moravia, Czech Republic. Bulletin of Geosciences 93(4), 477–489 (12 figures, 3 tables). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214-1119. https://www.doi.org/10.3140/bull.geosci.1724