Abstract

The skeleton of a berycomorph fish of the Melamphaidae family was found in sediments of the Middle-Upper Miocene of the Kurasi Formation of Sakhalin Island, Russia. Morphological features, such as a short tall body with a large head, the presence of one dorsal fin with a short base, 19 principal caudal rays, a small number of vertebrae, and single-row jaw teeth in combination with very large cycloid scales enable the assignment of this fossil to the modern genus Scopelogadus. This is the second known record of a fossil skeleton for both the genus Scopelogadus and the family Melamphaidae. The fossil locality is placed approximately 17 degrees north of the range of extant species of the genus. The presence of scopelogadus fish in the Kurasi Formation complex suggests that the accumulation depth of its deposits was at least 200 m.

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