Relationships of Empetrichthys erdisi, a Pliocene Cyprinodontid Fish from California, with Remarks on the Fundulinae and Cyprinodontidae
Uyeno T and Miller RR. 1962. Relationships of Empetrichthys erdisi, a Pliocene Cyprinodontid Fish from California, with Remarks on the Fundulinae and Cyprinodontidae. Copeia. 1962(3):520-532
Well-preserved remains of a Pliocene cyprinodontid fish from the Ridge Basin of southern California are referred to the genus Empetrichthys, of which there are two species living near Death Valley. The fossil, E. erdisi (Jordan), is distinguished from the Recent forms chiefly by having smaller scales and more vertebrae. A paleobotanical technique for exposing the embedded side of a fossil proved valuable in revealing relatively undisturbed skeletal features and is described in detail. In order to identify the fossil and to assess the relationships of Empetrichthys, the osteology of the nine living species of Empetrichthys, Crenichthys, and Profundulus, and of two species of Fundulus, is compared and illustrated. This study led to revised diagnoses for the first three genera, and confirmed the close relationship of Empetrichthys and Crenichthys. The validity of two of the subfamilies of the Cyprinodontidae, the Fundulinae and Cyprinodontinae, is discussed in the light of new osteological information and the unpublished skeletal studies on oviparous cyprinodonts by Sethi (1960). It is concluded that the two groups should be recognized and that the Cyprinodontinae is confined to the New World. The probable origin and dispersal of Empetrichthys is discussed. Both Empetrichthys and Crenichthys are regarded as derived from a common ancestor that branched off from the Profundulus-Fundulus line before Middle Pliocene time.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Uyeno, Teruya; Miller, Robert
- Units
- DEVA
- Keywords
- Death Valley National Park CA NV, Empetrichthys erdisi (cyprinodontid fish), killifishes pupfishes & toothcarps (Cyprinodontidae), Paleontology, Pliocene, Taxonomy, topminnows (Fundulus)