Pythonichthys colei (Müller, 1999)

Fig. 8E–H

“genus aff. Panturichthys ” colei Müller, 1999: 68, fig. 20/4–5, pl. 16 fig. 2.

“genus Heterenchelyidarum” colei – Nolf & Stringer 2003: 5, pl. 1 figs 3–8.

“ Heterenchelyida ” colei – Nolf 2013: 33, pl. 17.

Pythonichthys colei – Ebersole et al. 2019: 187, fig. 69c–d. — Stringer et al. 2022: 4, fig. 3b.

Remarks

Otoliths of the extant Pythonichthys microphthalmus (Regan, 1912) and P. macrurus (Regan, 1912) were figured by Nolf & Stringer (1992: pl. 9 figs 14 and 15, respectively). This was overlooked in the overview of Nolf (2013), and not mentioned by Ebersole et al. (2019), but a comparison with the abovementioned figures of Nolf & Stringer (1992) suggests that their generic attribution is plausible. This species was represented by 90 specimens in the upper Eocene Yazoo Clay by Nolf & Stringer (2003), but it represented less than 2% of the total assemblage. Although widely distributed in the Claiborne and Jackson groups, it typically represents only a small percentage of the assemblages. The genus is also known from the Paleocene Clayton Formation in Arkansas in unusually large numbers (24% of the total assemblage) according to Schwarzhans & Stringer (2020).

Stratigraphic and geographic distribution

Lutetian: “Stone City beds”, Texas; Piney Point Formation, Virginia. Bartonian: Cook Mountain Formation, Texas; Moodys Branch Formation, Louisiana and Mississippi; “upper” Lisbon Formation and Moodys Branch Formation, Alabama. Priabonian: Yazoo Clay, Louisiana and Mississippi.