Coastal fish otoliths from the early Pleistocene of Rhodes (eastern Mediterranean)

Agiadi, Konstantina; Vasileiou, Georgios; Koskeridou, Efterpi; Moissette, Pierre; Cornée, Jean‐Jacques

doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2019.06.006

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Reviewing the paleobiogeography of the non-indigenous species found in the DAs informs us on why these particular species invaded the Mediterranean Basin and reveals the characteristics of the native and the non-indigenous fish species inhabiting the Mediterranean today. In contrast to native species, these non-indigenous species have not been present in the Mediterranean in the geological past (Agiadi et al, 2018, 2019, 2020; Girone et al, 2006, 2010; Landini and Sorbini, 1992; Nolf, 2013). We distinguish four groups of non-indigenous taxa based on their paleobiogeographic distribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene fish assemblages provide baseline data for the rapidly changing eastern Mediterranean

Agiadi

Albano

2020

The Holocene

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The eastern Mediterranean marine ecosystem is undergoing massive modification due to biological invasions, overfishing, habitat deterioration, and climate warming. Our ability to quantify these changes is severely hindered by the lack of an appropriate baseline; most ecological datasets date back a few decades only and show already strong signatures of impact. Surficial death assemblages (DAs) offer an alternative data source that provides baseline information on community structure and composition. In this study, we reconstruct the marine fish fauna of the southern shallow Israeli shelf before the opening of the Suez Canal based on fish otoliths. We quantify the age of the otolith DAs by radiocarbon dating, and describe its taxonomic composition, geographic affinity, and trophic structure. Additionally, we test by radiocarbon dating the hypothesis that Bregmaceros, a presumed Lessepsian invader with continuous presence in the Mediterranean throughout the late Cenozoic, is a relict species. The otolith DA dates back to the mid-Holocene because 75% of the dated otoliths of the native species are older than the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, suggesting that the DA is a proper baseline for quantifying modern impacts. Consistently, 97% of the otoliths and 88% of the species we collected belong to native Mediterranean species. The native anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus dominates the DAs, although gobiids are the most diverse group (14 species, 28%). The DAs show similar trophic structure to present-day pristine Mediterranean coastal fish assemblages. Two non-indigenous species are recorded here for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, Amblygobius albimaculatus and Callogobius sp., highlighting the importance of DAs for detecting non-indigenous species. Finally, Bregmaceros otoliths are modern, not supporting the previous hypothesis that the taxon is a Pleistocene relict.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene fish assemblages provide baseline data for the rapidly changing eastern Mediterranean

Agiadi

Albano

2020

The Holocene

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“…This specimen is significantly shorter than those assigned to Apogon vigneauxi (Steurbaut, 1984), and it shows the same dorsal depression and relative size of the ostium to the cauda (OSL : CaL = 1.128) as A. moyesi from the Oligocene-Miocene of Aquitaine Basin (Steurbaut, 1982(Steurbaut, , 1984. Compared to the modern species Apogon imberbis from the Pliocene-Holocene of the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Agiadi et al, 2019(Agiadi et al, , 2020Agiadi and Albano, 2020), this specimen is shorter (OL : OH = 1.33 compared to a mean of 1.42 in A. imberbis).…”

Section: Remarksmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…The otoliths of Gnathophis elongatus are elongated and more similar to Conger, unlike Pliocene-Holocene specimens of Gnathophis mystax that are more quadrate (Tuset et al, 2008;Agiadi et al, 2020Agiadi et al, , 2019Agiadi et al, , 2018. However, the orientation of the sulcus forms an angle with the otolith length direction, as in Gnathophis species.…”

Section: Remarksmentioning

confidence: 90%

At the crossroads: early Miocene marine fishes of the proto-Mediterranean Sea

2021

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Abstract. Connectivity and climate control fish distribution today as well as in the geological past. We present here the Aquitanian (early Miocene) marine fish of the Mesohellenic Basin, a restricted basin at the border between the proto-Mediterranean and Paratethyan seas. Based on fish otoliths, we were able to identify 19 species from 17 genera, including two new species: Ariosoma mesohellenica and Gnathophis elongatus. This fish assemblage, in conjunction with the accompanying molluscan assemblage, indicates a variable shelf paleoenvironment with easy access to the open ocean. Although available data on the Indo-Pacific fishes of the early Miocene are very limited, the fish fauna of the Mesohellenic Basin has many elements in common with the North Sea, the NE Atlantic, and the Paratethys.

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“…Also the documentation of G. cf. paganellus from Pliocene sediments (Agiadi et al, 2013) and G. paganellus and G. cobitis from Pleistocene deposits (Agiadi et al, 2019) appear doubtful, as these otoliths clearly do not possess the typical shape of the respective species. However, based on the new comparative material presented here, they can be re-classified.…”

Section: Comparisons Of the Otolith Morphology Of Gobius With Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Nevertheless, we expect that the herein presented SEM images of the otoliths of 14 species of Gobius, together with the images shown in Lombarte et al (2018), will provide a valuable source of information for the detection of extant species of Gobius in the fossil record. As a first step, we compared our dataset with some previously published fossil otoliths of which SEM images had been presented (Lin et al, 2015;Agiadi et al, 2013Agiadi et al, , 2018Agiadi et al, , 2019. On this basis, we found the interpretation of otoliths as G. aff.…”

Section: Comparisons Of the Otolith Morphology Of Gobius With Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of past and present gobies: distinguishing Gobius and Pomatoschistus (Teleostei: Gobioidei) species using characters of otoliths, meristics and body morphometry

et al. 2020

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Gobies (Gobiidae + Oxudercidae) are among the largest groups of extant marine fishes. Fossils of gobies are abundant since the Miocene, and many species have been reported so far. However, delimitation of fossil goby species is challenging because molecular markers and diagnostic traits such as the disposition of sensory head papillae are lost. This study provides, for the first time, an actualistic framework for the identification of fossil goby species. We focus on characters that can in principle be recognized in fossils, and evaluate their ability to discriminate between extant goby species based on statistical analyses. Using 14 extant species of Gobius and seven species of Pomatoschistus, we conducted otolith morphometry, elliptic Fourier shape analysis of otoliths using the package ‘Momocs’, conventional fish morphometry, and meristic counts. In addition, the otoliths of all species are depicted based on SEM images and briefly described. Otolith Fourier shape analysis proved to be most efficient in discrimination of species within both genera, Gobius and Pomatoschistus. Several characters used in the other approaches also worked well, but the results were variable, and the relative taxonomic significance of particular variables tended to change depending on the species under consideration. We propose otolith shape analysis as a powerful tool to explore ancient goby species diversity when samples with abundant fossil otoliths are present. Overall, the herein presented data will greatly facilitate delimitation of fossil goby species in future studies, and will consequently shed new light on the evolution of goby diversity and biogeography through time.

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Coastal fish otoliths from the early Pleistocene of Rhodes (eastern Mediterranean)

Cited by 15 publications

References 44 publications

Holocene fish assemblages provide baseline data for the rapidly changing eastern Mediterranean

Holocene fish assemblages provide baseline data for the rapidly changing eastern Mediterranean

At the crossroads: early Miocene marine fishes of the proto-Mediterranean Sea

Identification of past and present gobies: distinguishing Gobius and Pomatoschistus (Teleostei: Gobioidei) species using characters of otoliths, meristics and body morphometry

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