The First Appearance of Hucho (Salmonidae) in the Fossil Record of Eastern Europe

Kovalchuk, Î. Ì.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/vzoo-2015-0047

Abstract

Until now, fossil remains of Hucho Gunther, 1866 are known only from the Oligocene — middle Miocene strata of Baikal Russia, and from the late Pleistocene of Germany. New specimens, now identifi ed as Hucho sp., come from the late Miocene of southern Ukraine. Numerous fragments of opercular bones and jaw teeth, morphologically similar to those in the extant genus Hucho, were found in Kubanka 2, Cherevychnoe 3, Tretya Krucha localities and dated by the late Sarmatian — early Maeotian (10–8 Ma). These remains document the first appearance of huchen in geological past of Europe, filling in gap in distribution of this genus during the late Neogene, and throw light upon its biogeographical history.

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