Early Miocene teleost otoliths from Parengarenga Harbour, New Zealand

Abstract

Early Miocene (Otaian and Altonian) sediments of the Parengarenga Group crop out along the northern and, less extensively, the southern shores of Parengarenga Harbour, Northland. A number of localities within and just below the Paratoetoe Formation have otoliths (calcareous secretions of the middle "ear") of teleost

The fauna is moderately diverse (55 species in 32 families) with the following families dominant in terms of abundance and diversity: Congridae (2 taxa), Sternoptychidae (2), Myctophidae (7), Moridae (4), Bregmacerotidae (1), Macrouridae (7), Hoplichthyidae (1), and Gobiidae (1).

11 new species are described:Congridarum grantmackiei, Polyipnus plebeius, Symbolophorus prionotus, Bregmaceros prosoponos, Macrourida'rum macmillani, Sirembinorum obesus, Hoplichthys multistriatus, Apogonidarum asciforme, Gerridarum lacunum, Gobiidarum pectenoides, and Paradiplospinus aichmeus. A number of other speciesmay also be new but are left in open nomenclatureat this stage(e.g.,Physiculus sp.1). Some taxa constitute the first fossil records in New Zealand for particular families (e.g., Polyipnus, Scopelarchus, Apogonidarum, and Paradiplospinus).

Paleoecologic analysis reveals that the fauna is of mixed origin with rare allochthonous upper shelf an shallow water taxa (e.g.,Gobiidarum, Labridarum, Apogonidarum, and Carapus) and the more common autochthonous deep water forms (e.g., Polyipnus, Diaphus, Bregmaceros, Coelorinchus, and Hoplichthys). Sedimentation occurred under marginally tropical conditions at depths of 200–500 m (i.e., lower continental shelf/upper continental slope).

Keywords:

• teleost otoliths
• Parengarenga Group
• Paratoetoe Formation
• Early Miocene
• Otaian Stage
• Altonian Stage
• new taxa
• paleoenvironments
• Congridarum grantmackiei, Polyipnus plebeius, Symbolophorus prionotus, Bregmaceros prosoponus, Macrouridarum macmillani, Sirembinorum obesus, Hoplichthys multistriatus, Apogonidarum asciforme, ?Gerridarum lacunum, Gobiidarum pectenoides, Paradiplospinus aichmeus