Pogonias, DE LACEPEDE, 1801

Cicimurri, David J., Knight, James L. & Ebersole, Jun A., 2022, Early Oligocene (Rupelian) fishes (Chondrichthyes, Osteichthyes) from the Ashley Formation (Cooper Group) of South Carolina, USA, PaleoBios 39 (1), pp. 1-38 : 25-26

POGONIAS DE LACEPÈDE, 1801

? POGONIAS SP.

FIG. 11E–G

Type species — Pogonias fasciatus, de Lacepède 1801 ; Recent.

Referred specimens (n=36) —SC2007.36.112 (33 teeth), SC2007.36.138, SC2007.36.196 ( Fig. 11E–G ), SC2007.36.197.

Description —These teeth are circular in occlusal outline and have a smooth enameloid crown. The enameloid does not extend to the base of the teeth, exposing a ring of dentine at the tooth base. The teeth have a strongly domed occlusal surface and slightly convex lateral edges.

In profile view, the teeth are slightly wider than tall. A shallow, rounded, and centrally located pulp cavity is visible on the tooth base that is surrounded by a thick wall of dentine.

Remarks —These specimens are comparable to teeth in the pharyngeal plates of a Recent Pogonias cromis ( Linnaeus, 1766) we examined (MSC 42612). They differ from the Albula sp. teeth in our sample by having a more domed apex and the lateral edges are not straight or basally tapered as they are on the Ashley Formation Albula . These teeth differ from the? Calamus teeth in our sample by having a circular occlusal outline, a smaller pulp cavity that is surrounded by thicker dentine walls, and by having a taller and more domed crown. They differ from the Archosargus sp. molariform teeth in our sample by being wider than tall, by having a circular as opposed to oval pulp cavity, and by not being as basally tapered.

Lo et al. (2015) provided molecular data that suggested Pogonias cromis , the only extant member of the genus, diverged from a clade consisting of the sciaenid genera Sciaena and Umbrina during the early Miocene, approximately 21.3 Ma. This suggests that the Ashley Formation teeth represent either a basal member of Pogonias or an unknown and undescribed Rupelian sciaenid that is ancestral to Pogonias , Sciaena , and Umbrina .

Figures

Figure 11. Teleost teeth from the Givhans Ferry Member, Ashley Formation (Rupelian), Dorchester County, South Carolina. A, B.?Sciaenops sp. tooth, SC2007.36.200.1 in profile (A) and basal (B) views. C, D.?Sciaenops sp. tooth, SC2007.36.200.2 in profile (C) and basal (D) views. E–G.?Pogonias sp. tooth, SC2007.36.196 in occlusal (E), profile (F), and basal (G) views. H–J.?Calamus sp. tooth, SC2007.36.198 in occlusal (H), profile (I), and basal (J) views. K–M. Archosargus sp. molariform tooth, SC2007.36.197 in occlusal (K), profile (L), and basal (M) views. N–Q. Archosargus sp. incisiform tooth, SC2007.36.200 in profile (N), lingual (O), labial (P), and basal (Q) views. R–U. Archosargus sp. incisiform tooth, SC2015.29.219 in profile (R), lingual (S), labial (T), and basal (U) views. V, W. Archosargus sp. pharyngeal tooth, SC2007.36.192 in profile (V) and anterior (W) views. X, Y. Archosargus sp. pharyngeal tooth, SC2007.36.193 in profile (X) and anterior (Y) views. Z, AA. Diplodus sp. tooth, SC2015.29.222 in lingual (Z) and posterior (AA) views. BB‒CC. Diplodus sp. tooth, SC2015.29.224 in lingual (BB) and posterior (CC) views. Scale bar=0.5 mm in V,W; 1 mm in A–U, X–CC.