Tubesnout Aulichthys miocaenicus sp. nov. from the Miocene of Sakhalin Island (Russia): the First Reliable Fossil Record for the Family Aulorhynchidae

Abstract

An extinct species of tubesnouts belonging to the modern genus Aulichthys, A. miocaenicus sp. nov., was found in the deposits of the Serravalian–Tortonian of the Agnevo Formation of Sakhalin Island. This is the first reliable fossil record for the family Aulorhynchidae. The Miocene species is similar to the only modern relative in main proportions and morphological characters, but it differs in more developed bony structures such as large plates on the trunk, as well as in longer pelvic and anal spines. Another special feature of the Miocene species is well-developed ornamentation of the surface of trunk plates and ventral pelvic spine. The presence of tubesnouts in the fossil assemblage of Agnevo Formation indicates the shallow depth of the habitat of this community, as well as warmer climatic conditions in the Miocene at the latitude of Agnevo locality.