A new species of Lates (Perciformes, Latidae) from the Late Miocene of Ukraine and notes on the latest records of lates perches in the Eastern Paratethys

Abstract

ABSTRACT The family Latidae is considered to have originated in marine waters of the Tethys, and the fossil record of this group indicates a widespread occurrence of latid fishes in the past. In the Mediterranean–Paratethyan basins, the genus Lates is represented by a number of fossil species, the youngest of which have been reported from Miocene deposits of Italy and Ukraine. Here we report on Lates fossils recovered from Late Miocene (Pontian) deposits of the Shkodova Gora locality of Ukraine, with a description of a new species †Lates odessanus sp. nov. The new species bears distinct morphological traits, especially on its maxilla, premaxilla, and parasphenoid, not found in other spatiotemporally close relatives. The fossil record shows that much of the latid species diversity was lost after the Late Miocene, and the newly described species, †L. odessanus, appears to be the last known extinct representative of this group in low salinity deposits of the Mediterranean–Paratethyan basins. The only extant Lates species in the Mediterranean, L. niloticus, has survived in estuarine environments of the southern shore.