TABLE 1. List of main references for Cretaceous otoliths. The shaded areas indicate Early Cretaceous otolith references.
Country | Region | Formations | Age | Reference |
USA | Arkansas | Arkadelphia Formation | late Maastrichtian | Stringer and Sloan (2023) |
USA | North Dakota | Fox Hills Formation | late Maastrichtian | Hoganson et al. (2019) |
USA | Texas | Kemp Clay | late Maastrichtian | Schwarzhans and Stringer (2020) |
USA | Mississippi | Owl Creek Formation Ripley Formation |
late Maastrichtian | Stringer et al. (2020) |
USA | Maryland | Severn Formation | early to middle Maastrichtian |
Huddleston and Savoie (1983) |
USA | Maryland | Severn Formation | early to middle Maastrichtian |
Stringer and Schwarzhans (2021) |
USA | Mississippi | Ripley Formation | Maastrichtian | Stringer (1991) |
USA | New Jersey | Woodbury Formation | Campanian | Stringer et al. (2016) |
USA | North Carolina | Tar Heel Formation | Campanian | Stringer et al. (2018) |
USA | Tennessee | Coon Creek Formation | Campanian | Stringer (2016) |
USA | Mississippi | Coffee Sand Formation | Campanian | Nolf and Dockery (1990) |
USA | Alabama | Eutaw Formation | Santonian | Schwarzhans et al. (2018b) |
USA | Texas | Pawpaw Formation | late Albian | Schwarzhans et al. (2022) |
Austria | Eastern Alpes | Gosau Group | Coniacian | Sieber and Weinfurter (1967) |
Denmark | Stevns Klint | Møns Klint Formation | late Maastrichtian | Schwarzhans and Milan (2017) |
Netherlands | Limburg | Maastricht Formation | late Maastrichtian | Schwarzhans and Jagt (2021) |
Netherlands | Vaals-Eschberg | Vaals Formation | early Campanian | Schwarzhans and Jagt (2022) |
Netherlands England England |
Maastricht SE England Kent, Sussex |
Maastricht Formation English Chalk Group Gault Formation |
late Maastrichtian Cenomanian and Turonian Albian |
Schwarzhans et al. (2018a) *skeleton with otoliths |
England | Kent, Sussex | Gault Formation | Albian | Koken (1891) |
England | Kent, Sussex | Gault Formation | Albian | Shepherd (1916) |
England | Kent, Sussex | Gault Formation Speeton Clay Gault Formation |
Albian Berriasian - Hauterivian (Neocomian) |
Stinton (1973) |
England | Horsham | Weald Clay | Hauterivian | Sutherland et al. (2017) |
Germany | Bavaria | Gerhartsreiter Formation | Maastrichtian | Schwarzhans (1996) |
Germany | Bavaria | Gerhartsreiter Formation | Maastrichtian | Schwarzhans (2010) |
Germany | Niedersachsen | - | Hauterivian and Albian | Weiler (1972) |
Germany | Algermissen | Gault Formation | Albian | Wollemann, 1904 |
Poland | Wawal | Wawal claypit | Valanginian | Pindakiewicz et al. (2022) |
Spain France |
Catalonia Aude |
Late Santonian - Lower Campanian marls |
late Santonian - lower Campanian | Nolf (2003) |
Spain | Maestrazgo | Forcall Formation Chert Formation |
early Aptian | Nolf (2004) |
France | Maine | Ballon Marl | Cenomanian | Nolf (2016) |
India | Andhra Pradesh | Intcrtrappean beds | late Maastrichtian | Rana (1988) |
India | Nagpur | Intertrappean beds | late Maastrichtian | Rana and Shani (1989) |
India | Chemalgutta Nagpur Naskal Rangapur |
Intertrappean beds | late Maastrichtian | Nolf et al. (2008) |
India | Asifabad Deothan/Kheri Nagpur Naskal Nizamabad Rangapur |
Intertrappean beds | late Maastrichtian | Rana (1990) |
India | Ranga reddi | Intertrappean beds | late Maastrichtian | Rana (1996) |
Israel | Helez | Geveram Formation | Berriasian-Valanginian | Schwarzhans (2018) |
Japan | Hokkaido | Haborogawa Formation | Santonian | Yokoi (1998) |
Japan | Chiba | Kimigahama Formation | Barremian | This study |
TABLE 2. List of otoliths found in the Kimigahama Formation (Barremian) of the Choshi Group, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Taxa | Specimens |
Teleostei fam., gen. et sp. indet. | 7 |
Pterothrissinae gen. et sp. indet. | 83 |
Elopiformes fam., gen. et sp. indet. | 17 |
Argentinidae gen. et sp. indet. | 32 |
Ichthyotringidae gen. et sp. indet. | 7 |
TABLE 3. Fossil records of the Cretaceous Pterothrissinae, Elopiformes, Argentinidae, and Ichthyotringoidei. The upper table (1–22) shows the otolith-based fossil records, and the lower table (23–48) shows the skeleton-based fossil records. Each number corresponds to a number on the paleographic map in Figure 5 and Figure 6.
No. in figs. 5 and 6 |
Country | Region | Formations | Sedimentary environment |
Age | Pterothrissinae | Elopiformes | Argentinidae | Ichthyotringoidei | Reference |
Otolith | ||||||||||
Upper Cretaceous | ||||||||||
1 | USA | Mississippi | Owl Creek Formation | nearshore marine to probably coastal depositional (Oboh-Ikuenobe et al., 2012) |
late Maastrichtian | Pterothrissus sp. | - | Apateodus crenellatus | Stringer et al. (2020) | |
2 | USA | Texas | Kemp Clay | deltaic, prodelta with shelf deposits (Kocurek,1978) | late Maastrichtian | Pterothrissus conchaeformis Pterothrissus cf. foreyi |
- | - | - | Schwarzhans and Stringer (2020) |
3 | USA | Arkansas | Arkadelphia Formation | possibly inner shelf; less than 20 m in depth |
late Maastrichtian | Elopothrissus sp. | Elops sp. | - | Apateodus crenellatus ? | Stringer and Sloan (2023) |
4 | Netherlands | Limburg | Maastricht Formation | shallow-marine (not deeper than 40 m) |
late Maastrichtian | - | - | Argentina voigti | Ichthyotringa ? tavernei Apateodus corneti |
Schwarzhans and Jagt (2021) |
5 | Germany | Bavaria | Gerhartsreiter Formation | middle shelf to abyssal (Butt and Hhrm, 1978) | Maastrichtian | Pteralbula foreyi Pterothrissus sp. |
- | Argentina voigti | - | Schwarzhans (2010) |
6 | USA | Maryland | Severn Formation | open-ocean conditions (Cochran et al., 2003) |
early to middle Maastrichtian | Pterothrissidae indeterminate Pterothrissus conchaeformis Pterothrissus foreyi |
- | ? Argentina voigti Argentinidae indeterminate |
Apateodus aff. corneti Apateodus crenellatus Ichthyotringa? tavernei |
Huddleston and Savoie (1983) Stringer and Schwarzhans (2021) |
7 | USA | Mississippi | Ripley Formation | middle-shelf range (20–100 m) | Maastrichtian | Pterothrissus sp. | Megalops ? nolfi | - | Apateodus crenellatus Thrax acutus |
Stringer (1991) Stringer et al. (2020) |
8 | USA | North Carolina | Tar Heel Formation | inner to middle neritic depths (shelf environment) |
Campanian | Pterothrissus carolinensis Pterothrissus sp. 2 Pterothrissidae indeterminate |
Megalopidae indeterminate | - | - | Stringer et al. (2018) |
9 | USA | New Jersey | Woodbury Formation | shallow marine, inner to middle shelf |
Campanian | Pterothrissus sp. 1 Pterothrissus sp. 2 Pterothrissidae indeterminate |
Megalopidae indeterminate | - | - | Stringer et al. (2016) |
10 | USA | Mississippi | Coffee Sand Formation | shallow-shelf (Webb, 1984) | Campanian | Pterothrissus sp. | ? Megalopidae | - | - | Nolf and Dockerym (1990) |
11 | USA | Tennessee | Coon Creek Formation | shallow marine | Campanian | Pterothrissidae indeterminate | - | - | - | Stringer (2016) |
12 | Netherlands | Vaals-Eschberg | Vaals Formation | nearshore | early Campanian | - | - | Argentina sp. | - | Schwarzhans and Jagt (2022) |
13 | Spain | Catalonia | Font de les Bagasses Unit | shallow marine (probably less than 50 m deep) | Santonian-early Campanian (Albrich et al., 2014, 2015) |
- | Elopidae indeterminate | - | - | Nolf (2003) |
14 | USA | Alabama | Eutaw Formation | estuarine (Frazier, 1997) | Santonian | Elopothrissus sp. | Elops eutawanus | - | Apateodus? assisi Apateodus sp. |
Schwarzhans et al. (2018b) |
15 | France | Maine | Ballon Formation (Ballon Marl) | proximal platform (Robaszynski et al., 1998) | Cenomanian | Pterothrissus ciabatta | - | - | - | Nolf (2016) |
Lower Cretaceous | ||||||||||
16 | England | Kent, Sussex | Gault Formation | less than 80 m. (Knight, 1997) | Albian | Pteralbula galtina Pteralbula cantina |
- | "Argentina" lobata | - | Stinton (1973) Shepherd (1916) |
17 | USA | Texas | Pawpaw Formation | shallow marine environment | late Albian | Elopothrissus pawpawensis Pteralbula galtina |
- | - | Apateodus sp. Ichthyotringa? cuneata Ichthyotringa? sp. |
Schwarzhans et al. (2022) |
18 | Spain | Maestrazgo | Forcall Formation | microbial-coral rimmed shelf (Embry et al., 2010) | early Aptian | Pteralbula todolellana | - | Argentina? bergantinum Argentinidae ind. |
- | Nolf (2004) |
19 | Spain | Maestrazgo | Chert Formation | oolitic-orbitolinid mixed carbonate-siliciclastic homoclinal ramp (Embry et al., 2010) | earlyAptian | Pteralbula todolellana | Protoelops scalpellum | Argentina? bergantinum | - | Nolf (2004) |
20 | Israel | Helez | Gevaram Formation | pelagic 1000m+ | Berriasian- Valanginian | - | Aulothrissus avitus Aulothrissus heletzensis |
- | - | Schwarzhans (2018) |
21 | Poland | Wawal | Wawal claypit | shallow-water within the littoral zone | Valanginian | Pteralbula galtina Pteralbula polonica |
Protoelops gracilis | Palaeoargentina plicata | - | Pindakiewicz et al. (2022) |
22 | Japan | Chiba | Kimigahama Formation | offshore to shoreface | Barremian | Pterothrissinae gen et sp. indet. | Elopiformes fam., gen. et sp. indet | Argentinidae indet. | Ichthyotringidae gen et. sp.indet | This study |
Skeleton | ||||||||||
Upper Cretaceous | ||||||||||
23 | India | Mumbai | Poladpu Formation | - | Maastrichtian (Verma and Khosla, 2019) | - | - | - | Apateodus sp. | Cripps et al. (2005) |
24 | India | Mumbai | Ambenali Formation | ragoon | late Maastrichtian-Danian (Verma and Khosla, 2019) | - | - | - | Apateodus sp. | Cripps et al. (2005) |
25 | Netherlands | Maastricht | Maastricht Formation of Kunrade Limestone facies | shallow water, semi lagoonal area (Pollock, 1976) | Maastrichtian | - | - | - | Apateodus corneti | Kruizinga (1924) Schwarzhans et al. (2018a) |
26 | Greece | Eurytania | Pindos Unit | offshore | late Maastrichtian | - | - | - | Ichthyotringidae indet. | Argyriou and Davesne (2021) |
27 | Greece | Gavdos Island | Pindos Unit | pelagic | middle-late Maastrichtian | - | - | - | Ichthyotringa pindica | Argyriou et al. (2022) |
28 | Germany | Westphalia | Baumberge Formation | pelagic (Riegraf, 1995) | Campanian | Istieus macrocephalus | - | - | - | Forey (1973) |
29 | Germany | Sendenhorst | Coesfeld Formation | mesoneritic | Campanian | Istieus grandis Istieus gracilis |
Sedenhorstia granulata | - | Ichthyotringa furcata | Forey (1973) Goody (1969) Dietze (2009) |
30 | Canada | Alberta | Bearpaw Formation | delta to off shore (Tsujita and Westermann, 1998) | late Campanian | - | - | - | Ursichthys longiparietalis | Newbrey and Konishi (2015) |
31 | U.S.A. | Kansas | Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk |
150-300m (Hattin, 1982) | Santonian | - | - | - | Apateodus busseni Apateodus sp. cf. Apateodus sp. Ichthyotringidae (?) indet. |
Allen and Shimada (2021) Fielitz and Shimada (2009) Fielitz and Shimada (2020) Newbrey and Konishi (2015) |
32 | Lebanon | Sahel Alma | “fish−beds” of the Sahel Alma Lagerstätte | deeper than intrashelf (Audo and Charbonnier,2013) |
Santonian | Istieus lebanonensis | Davichthys dubius | - | Ichthyotringa furcata Ichthyotringa ferox Ichthyotringa damoni |
Forey (1973) Forey et al. (2003) Goody (1969) Taverne (2006) |
33 | Canada | Alberta | Kaskapau Formation | marine | Turonian | - | - | - | Apateodus sp. | Wilson and Chalifa (1989) |
34 | Germany | Niedersachsen | pit II of Hannoversche-Portlandfabrik | epicontinental pelagic to hemipelagic (Hilbreeht and Dahmer,1994) |
Turonian | - | - | - | lchthyotringa furcata | Kriwet and Gloy (1995) |
35 | England | Sussex | White Chalk Subgroup (=Middle Chalk, Sussex White Chalk Formation) |
shelf (Woods et al., 2012) |
Turonian | - | - | - | Apateodus striatus | Newbrey and Konishi (2015) |
36 | Italy | Cinto Euganeo Possagno |
Bonarelli Level | pelagic and hemipelagic | Cenomanian-Turonian | - | - | - | Ichthyotringa africana | Amalfitano et al. (2020) Taverne (2006) |
37 | England | Brockham Cambridgeshire |
Lower Chalk | shallow water sediments (Jeans, 1980) |
Cenomanian | - | - | - | Apateodus striatus | Newbrey and Konishi (2015) |
38 | Lebanon | Hajula Hackel Namoura |
Sunny Formation | intrashelf (Audo and Charbonnier,2012) |
Cenomanian | Hajulia multidens | Sedenhorstia libanica S. dayi S. orientalis Davichthys gardneri Ctenodentelops striatus |
- | Ichthyotringa delicata Apateopholis laniatus |
Goody (1969) Forey (1973) Forey et al. (2003) |
39 | Morocco | Jbel Tselfat | Cenomanian of Jbel Tselfat | deep marine environment (500m +) (Khalloufi et al., 2010) |
early Cenomanian | - | Davichthys lacostei | - | Ichthyotringa africana | Forey (1973) Forey et al. (2003) Murray (2000) Taverne (2006) |
Lower Cretaceous | ||||||||||
40 | Mexico | Hidalgo | El Doctor Formation | outer sea shelf | Albian to Cenomanian | Nunaneichthys mexicanus | - | - | I. mexicana | Hernandez-Guerrero et al. (2020) Fielitz and Gonzalez-Rodıguez (2008) |
41 | France | Vallentigny | Marnes de Brienne | epicontinental sea (Corentin et al., 2020) | late Albian | - | Elopoides tomassoni | - | - | Forey (1973) |
42 | Congo | Kipala | Kwango Group | lagoon (LÓPEZ-Arbarello, 2004) | Albian | - | Kipalelops lepersonnei | - | - | Taverne (1976a) |
43 | Australia | Queensland | Toolebuc Formation | shallow marine | Albian | - | Flindersichthys denmeadi | - | - | Bartholomai (2010) |
44 | Mexico | Tlayúa | Tlayúa Formation | transitional shallow marine | Albian | - | Epaelops martinezi | - | - | Alves et al. (2020) |
45 | England | Kent | Gault Formation | less than 80 m. (Knight, 1997) | Albian | - | - | - | Apateodus glyphodus | Newbrey and Konishi (2015) |
46 | Brazil | Araripe | Romualdo Formation | shallow marine | Aptian | - | Paraelops cearensis | - | - | e.g. Maisey (1991) |
47 | Gabon | northernmost part of the Gabon Basin |
Upper Cocobeach Formation | lacustrine to fluvial (Robert and Yapaudjian, 1990) |
Aptian | - | - | Wenzichthys congolensis | - | Taverne (1975, 1976b) |
48 | Belgium | Bernissart | Lower Wealdian | lacustrine to swampy | Barremian to earliest Aptian (e.g. Spagna et al. 2012) |
- | Arratiaelops vectensis | Nybelinoides pattersonella | - | Taverne (1982, 1999) |