A new Chinese perch (Perciformes, Sinipercidae) from the early Miocene of South Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACT A new species of Chinese perch (Perciformes, Sinipercidae), †Coreoperca chosun, sp. nov., is described based on four specimens (mostly fragmentary and disarticulated) found in the freshwater Lower Miocene Geumgwangdong Formation in the vicinity of Pohang City, South Korea (N35°57′30.5, E129°26′57.3). Such characters of this fossil sinipercid as the serrated ventral margin of the preopercle, the third dorsal-fin spine being shorter than the fourth and fifth spines, the third to fifth neural spines inserted shallowly rather than deeply between the proximal dorsal-fin pterygiophores, the relatively strong supraneurals and relatively large scales indicate its attribution to the genus Coreoperca. However, its unique combination of characters clearly distinguishes †C. chosun, sp. nov. from both the extinct and extant members of the genus Coreoperca. This is the first fossil record of the family Sinipercidae in the Korean Peninsula, one of the earliest representatives of Coreoperca known to date, and the first described Neogene freshwater fish from South Korea.