30
† Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013 : A New Coelacanth Fish Fossil Species from the Anthracothere Hill in Al-Naqab, Palestine نوع جديد ألحفورة سمكة: 3102 ، ماكروبومويدس بلستينا خلف فلسطين، ال ُجمبيزة (سيالكانث) من تل أنثراكوثير في النقب By: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa Abstract: A new fossil species of Coelacanth Fish from the Early Miocene of the genus Macropomoides (Class Sarcopterygii, Subclass Crossopterygii, Order Coelacanthiformes, Suborder Latimerioidei, Family Latimeriidae) was found at the Anthracothere Hill in Al-Naqab (Negev), Palestine. The new fossil species is distinguished from the Lebanese Coelacanth fossil species Macropomoides orientalis by its slightly different skeletal, skull and fin features. It is morphologically a distinct species. The new species was named † Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013.
A new fossil species of Coelacanth Fish from the Early Miocene of the genus Macropomoides (Class Sarcopterygii, Subclass Crossopterygii, Order Coelacanthiformes, Suborder Latimerioidei, Family Latimeriidae) was found at the Anthracothere Hill in Al-Naqab (Negev), Palestine. It belongs to the Family Latimeriidae and therefore closely related to the living coelacanth Latimeria. The new fossil species is distinguished from the Lebanese Coelacanth fossil species Macropomoides orientalis Woodward, 1942 by its slightly different skeletal, skull and fin features. It is morphologically a distinct species. The new species was named † Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013. Naomi F. Goldsmith and Ilana Yanai-Inbar (1997) from the Blaustein Institute and Pathology Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev wrote in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: “Using Latimeria chalumnae as reference for the fish fossils found at Anthracothere Hill in the Negev (south) of Israel, we test B. Schaeffer's 1977 theorem {Differences in the histology and gross form of the Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
31
teeth, dermal skull elements, scales and fin components obviously have systematic significance. If we are concerned with extinct animals, we can compare directly only structure in attempting to infer relationships}." The corollaries we infer are: 1) If there are no differences, it is likely we are dealing with an identity, or at best a similarity of incertae sedes... 2) Furthermore, if Latimeria appears in the 20th century off the east African coast after a 70 Ma absence, it had to have been somewhere. Intervening coelacanthid specimens in Africa are found in Madagascar's Trias (Moore 1995), Niger's E. Cretaceous (Wenz 1975) and the Negev Miocene. The North African sites were bound by the Tethys Ocean; both also sheltered Lates (Gayet et al.1983; N.F. Goldsmith et a1.1982). But the major transport mechanism, as geophysicists Molnar, Royer, and Dyment agree, was by the northward bound India Plate and the opening of the Red Sea at Aden (Goldsmith and Yanai-Inbar 1997). Further tests compare Negev fossils with teeth and bones in the first Latimeria dissection (Millot, Anthony 1958) and teeth of preserved Latimeria at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, and the Museums of Natural History in Stockholm, Washington, New York, London and Paris (Goldsmith and Yanai-Inbar 1997). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses replicate the results of Boyde (1972), Meinke (1982), and Smith (1978); the bone shows sensory canals as demonstrated by Wenz (1975). Q.E.D. (Goldsmith and Yanai-Inbar 1997).
Genus Macropomoides Woodward 1942 The body is relatively deep and reaches about 300 mm SL. The head bones are without ornament; a preorbital is absent; the lachrymojugal is narrow beneath the eye and barely larger than the enclosed sensory canal; postorbital is deep, expanded dorsally with a narrow ventral limb; the squamosal is very small and both the spiracular and the preoperculum may be absent. The premaxilla carries a few stout teeth. The operculum is rounded poster-odorsally with a very oblique ventral margin. Sensory canals open by a few large pores on the parietonasal shield; the angular and splenial each have four large sensory pores. Teeth upon the parasphenoid are restricted to the anterior third of the bone. The principal coronoid has a distinct waist and a longitudinally expanded head. The gular plates are twice as long as broad. The anocleithrum is forked dorsally with a narrow dorsal limb and a broad anterodorsal limb. Short ribs are developed throughout the posterior half of the abdominal region. The caudal fin has a rounded posterior margin which encloses the supplementary lobe. Pointed denticles are present on at least the first three rays of D1 and the leading rays of the principal caudal lobes. The pelvic bone is a simple rod with a proximal lateral Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
32
expansion and the D1 support has a prominent anteroventrally directed thickened ridge. The scales are ornamented with many closely spaced denticles which, like the denticles on the fins, bear many fine striations. Those scales beneath and behind the level of D1 show a prominent central denticle (the only denticle present in small specimens) (Forey 1997/1998).
Fossil of the Lebanese Coelacanth Macropomoides orientalis Woodward, 1942 from Lebanon. Photo at the Senckenberg Museum of Frankfurt, Germany. Photo by Ghedoghedo. 19 August 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Macropomoides_orientalis_-_Lebanon.jpg
Conclusion: After studying the Macropomoides fish fossil specimen from the Anthracothere Hill in Al-Naqab (Negev), Palestine and comparing with the Lebanese Coelacanth fossil species Macropomoides Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
33
orientalis, and referring to many zoological references, and searching the Internet, I came finally to a conclusion that we are in front of a new Coelacanth fossil species. I gave it the scientific name † Macropomoides palaestina, new fossil species. The species name “palaestina” is for Palestine, from where the fossil specimen was found. † Macropomoides palaestina, new fossil species: Scientific Binomial name: † Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013 Authority: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa. Common Names: Palestine Coelacanth, Al-Naqab Coelacanth, Negev Coelacanth. Holotype Fossil: MP-1, Blaustein Institute and Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Pathology
Origin: Anthracothere Hill in Al-Naqab (Negev), Palestine.
Taxon profile << Go back one level - Macropomoides
species
Palestine Coelacanth Macropomoides palaestina
Khalaf, 2013
†
kingdom Animalia - animals » phylum Chordata chordates » class Sarcopterygii » order Coelacanthiformes coelacanth » family Latimeriidae - coelacanths
Other names = Al-Naqab Coelacanth = Negev Coelacanth More >>
Taxon Profile: species Palestine Coelacanth Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013. BioLib. Biological Library. http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id1075889/ Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
34
References and Internet Websites: Association for the Preservation of the Coelacanth. http://gombessa.tripod.com/ Attenborough, David (1979). Life on Earth. Collins, London, Glasgow, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, Johannesburg, and the British Broadcasting Corporation, London. 319 pp. Blancpain. Project Gombessa. http://www.blancpain.com/projet-gombessa Bone, Quentin and Moore, Richard H. (2008). Biology of Fishes. 3rd (third) edition. published by Taylor & Francis, New York. Boyd, A.J. and J.D. Hewitson (1983). Distribution of anchovy larvae off the west coast of southern Africa between 32 degree 30' and 26 degree 30'S, 1979-1982. S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 9:53-67. Coelacanth. Hjoula, Byblos, Lebanon. http://en.harunyahya.net/coelacanthfossils-pictures-of-fossils/ Coelacanth. Lebanon. http://en.harunyahya.net/coelacanth-fossils-hd-fossilphotographs/ Coelacanth Fossils – Fossil Information. Hjoula, Lebanon. http://en.harunyahya.net/coelacanth-fossils-fossil-information/ Coelacanth Fossils – Fossil Information. Lebanon. http://en.harunyahya.net/coelacanth-fossils-fossil-information-2/ Coelacanth Fossils – Fossil Museum. Lebanon. http://en.harunyahya.net/coelacanth-fossils-fossil-museum/ Coelacanth News! http://www.dinofish.com/news.html Coelacanth with its pair fossils. Hjoula, Lebanon. http://en.harunyahya.net/coelacanth-with-its-pair-fossils-pictures-of-fossils/ Coelacanthiformes. http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/sarcopt erygii/coelacanthinimorpha/coelacanthiformes.html Coelacanthinimorpha. http://www.palaeocritti.com/bygroup/sarcopterygii/coelacanthinimorpha Cretaceous - Macropomoides: A Coelacanth Fish. http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/seymouria/conversations/topics/1810 Ebay. Zoic Fossil Fish Lebanon Coelacanth Macropomoides orientalis unprepared. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110950562251 Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). Macropomoides. http://eol.org/pages/10648844/details Erdmann, Mark V.; Caldwell, Roy L.; Moosa, M. Kasim (1998). "Indonesian 'king of the sea' discovered". Nature 395 (6700): 335. FishBase. http://www.fishbase.org/search.php FishBase References for Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, N.A.B.A.T., 2009. http://www.fishbase.org/References/ReferencesListTitles.php?Author=KhalafSakerfalke%20von%20Jaffa,%20N.A.B.A.T.&Year=2009&FishBase=Yes Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
35
Forey, Peter L. (1999/1998). History of the Coelacanth Fishes. London: Champan & Hall and the Natural History Museum. pp. 440. Gayet 1983. Name - Lates maliensis Gayet 1983. http://www.organismnames.com/namedetails.htm?lsid=689373 Gayet, M. and F.J. Meunier (2000). Rectification of the nomenclature of the genus name Ellisella Gayet & Meunier, 1991 (Teleostei, Ostariophysi, Gymnotiformes) in Humboldtichthys nom. nov. Cybium 24(1):104. Goldsmith, N. F., Tchernov, E., Ginsburg, L., Tassy, P., and Van Couvering, J. A. (1982). Ctenodactylid rodents in the Miocene Negev fauna of Israel. Nature, 296 (5858): 645-647. Goldsmith, Naomi F. & Yanai-Inbar, Ilana (1999). Coelacanthid in Israel’s Early Miocene? Latimeria tests Schaeffer’s theory. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 17, Supplement to number 3, September 1997, p. 49A. Abstracts of Papers: Fifty-Seventh Annual Meeting, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, The Ramada Congress Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, October 8-11, 1997, Sponsored by the Field Museum. http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/Quastenflosser/message/99 Gombessa Coelacanth Expedition. http://www.saiab.ac.za/saiabnews/gombessa-coelacanth-expedition.htm Holder, Mark T.; Mark V. Erdmann, Thomas P. Wilcox, Roy L. Caldwell, and David M. Hillis (1999). Two living species of coelacanths? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1999 October 26; 96(22): 12616–12620. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC23015/ Khalaf, Norman Ali Bassam (Zoology, Second Year) (1982). Samak Al-Coelacanth (The Coelacanth Fish). Al-Biology Magazine. Number 2, February 1982, Biological Society, Kuwait University, State of Kuwait. pp.14-15. (In Arabic). http://issuu.com/drnormanalibassamkhalaf/docs/coelacanth_fish_al_biology_magazine Khalaf, Norman Ali Bassam (1987). The Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) in the Science and Natural History Museum, State of Kuwait. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Number 15. Fifth Year, July 1989, Thul Qi’dah 1409 AH. Rilchingen-Hanweiler, Federal Republic of Germany. pp. 1-8. http://quastenflosser.webs.com/coelacanthkuwait.htm Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali Bassam (2005). Der Komoren-Quastenflosser (Latimeria chalumnae) und der Manado-Quastenflosser (Latimeria menadoensis). Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. Number 38, Twenty Third Year. February 2005. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. pp. 1-8. http://quastenflosser.webs.com/ Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali (Gründer) (seit Juni 2005). Der Quastenflosser: Coelacanth Latimeria Yahoo! Deutschland Group. http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/Quastenflosser/ Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali (2005). Aquatica Arabica. An Aquatic Scientific Journey in Palestine, Arabia and Europe between 1980 - 2005 / Aquatica Arabica. Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
36
Eine Aquatische Wissenschaftliche Reise in Palästina, Arabien und Europa zwischen 1980 - 2005. ISBN 3-00-014835-3. Erste Auflage / First Edition, August 2005: 376 Seiten / Pages. Self-Publisher: Norman Ali Khalaf, RilchingenHanweiler, Bundesrepublik Deutschland & Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://dr-norman-ali-khalaf-books.webs.com/aquaticaarabica.htm Khalaf-von Jaffa, Norman Ali (2005). The Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) in the Science and Natural History Museum, State of Kuwait. In : Aquatica Arabica. An Aquatic Scientific Journey in Palestine, Arabia and Europe between 1980 - 2005 / Aquatica Arabica. Eine Aquatische Wissenschaftliche Reise in Palästina, Arabien und Europa zwischen 1980 - 2005. ISBN 3-00-014835-3. Erste Auflage / First Edition, August 2005, pp. 110-117. Self-Publisher: Norman Ali Khalaf, Rilchingen-Hanweiler, Bundesrepublik Deutschland & Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Khalaf, Dr. Norman Ali (Zoologist) (2011). A note on the Coelacanth of Kuwait. Readers’ Letters, National Geographic Al Arabiya Magazine. April 2011, Volume 2, Number 7, pp. 8. (In Arabic). http://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/10122383976/ Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2013). † Coelacanthus sharjah Khalaf, 2013 : A New Coelacanth Fish Fossil Species from Sharjah Natural History and Botanical Museum, Sharjah, Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 6288. Number 106, October 2013, Thu Al Hijja 1434 AH. pp. 18–38. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://quastenflosser.webs.com/coelacanthussharjah.htm Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2013). Taxon Profile: Species Sharjah Coelacanth Coelacanthus sharjah Khalaf, 2013. BioLib. Biological Library. http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id1068520/ Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2013). Sharjah Coelacanth († Coelacanthus sharjah Khalaf, 2013). EOL. Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/collections/95987/ Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2013). † Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013 : A New Coelacanth Fish Fossil Species from the Anthracothere Hill in Al-Naqab, Palestine. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Number 107, November 2013, Muharram 1435 AH. pp. 30-38. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://quastenflosser.webs.com/macropomoidespalaestina.htm Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2013). Taxon Profile: Species Palestine Coelacanth Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013. BioLib. Biological Library. http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id1075889/ Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2013). Palestine Coelacanth († Macropomoides palaestina Khalaf, 2013). EOL. Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/collections/97239 Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2014). A Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
37
Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) Model at the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn, Germany. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 - 6288. Number 111, March 2014, Jumada Al Oula 1435 AH. pp. 1–9. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://quastenflosser.webs.com/coelacanthmuseumkoenig.htm Khalaf-Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher (2014). The Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) at the Educational Science Museum, Kuwait City, State of Kuwait. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 - 6288. Number 112, April 2014, Jumada Al Akhera 1435 AH. pp. 1–10. Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. http://quastenflosser.webs.com/coelacanthkuwait2013.htm Macropomoides orientalis Coelacanth Fish Fossil. http://www.fossilmall.com/EDCOPE_Enterprises/fish/fishfossils1/fishfossils1b.htm Meinke, D.K. (1987). Morphology and evolution of the dermal skeleton in lungfishes. In W.E. Bemis, W.W. Burggren, N.E. Kemp (eds) The biology and evolution of lungfishes. Alan R. Liss., New York. J. Morph. suppl. 1.:133-149. Millot, J. and J. Anthony (1958). Anatomie de Latimeria chalumnae. Tome I. Squelette et Muscles et formations de soutien. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS, Paris (Tome 1):122pp+ill. Moore, J.A. (2003). p. 1189-1191. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). Nulens, Rik; Lucy Scott , Marc Herbin (2011). An Updated Inventory of All Known Specimens of the Coelacanth, Latimeria Spp. Smithiana Special Publication 3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. 52 pages. http://www.nhbs.com/an_updated_inventory_of_all_known_specimens_of_tef no_184079.html Pitman M.D., Sean D. (April 2012). The Fossil Record. http://www.detectingdesign.com/fossilrecord.html Pouyaud, Laurent; Wirjoatmodjo, Soetikno; Rachmatika, Ike; Tjakrawidjaja, Agus; Hadiaty, Renny; Hadie, Wartono (1999). Une nouvelle espèce de coelacanthe. Preuves génétiques et morphologiques. A new species of coelacanth. Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences - Série III - Sciences de la vie / Life Sciences - 1999, 322, 261-267. www.elsevier.fr/html/news/cras3mars99/pouyaud.html Schaeffer, B. (1977). The dermal skeleton in fishes. in “Problems in Vertebrate Evolution,” S. M. Andrews, R. S. Miles and A. D. Walker, eds., Academic Press London. Smith, C.L. )1978(. Coral reef fish communities: a compromise view. Environ. Biol. Fish. 3(1):109-128. Smith, C.L. )1978( Lobotidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013
38
sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol. 3. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome. Smith, J.L.B. (1939). A surviving fish of the order Actinistia. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 27: 47-50. Smith, J.L.B. (1940). A living coelacanthid fish from South Africa. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 28: 1-106. Smith, M.M. (1986). Latimeriidae. p. 152-153. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. Smith, H.T., C.B. Schreck and O.E. Maughan (1978). Effect of population density and feeding rate on the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). J. Fish Biol. 12:449455. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The Coelacanth: More Living than Fossil. http://vertebrates.si.edu/fishes/coelacanth/coelacanth_wider.html Vorobjeva, E.I. and Obruchev, D.V. (1967). Subclass Sarcopterygii, pp. 480-498. In: Obruchev, D.V. (ed.). Fundamentals of Palaeontology, 11, Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations. Wendruff, Andrew J. and Mark V.H. Wilson (2013). New Early Triassic coelacanth in the family Laugiidae (Sarcopterygii: Actinistia) from the Sulphur Mountain Formation near Wapiti Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Can. J. Earth Sci., September 2013, v.50:904-910. http://cjes.geoscienceworld.org/content/50/9/904.full Wenz, S. (1975). Un nouveau Coelacanthidé du Crétacé inférieur du Niger, remarques sur la fusion des os dermiques [A new coelacanth from the Lower Cretaceous of Niger, remarks on fusion of the dermal bones]. Colloques Internationaux du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1973. Problèmes actuels de Paléontologie (Évolution des Vertébrés). Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 218:175-190. http://fossilworks.org/cgibin/bridge.pl?taxon_no=193977&action=basicTaxonInfo Wiki Project. Paleontology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Paleontology Wikipedia. Coelacanth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth Wikipedia. Comoro Islands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comoro_Islands Wikipedia. Indonesian Coelacanth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_coelacanth Wikipedia. Macropomoides. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macropomoides Wikipedia. West Indian Ocean Coelacanth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indian_Ocean_coelacanth Woodward, A. S. (1942). Some new and little-known Upper Cretaceous Fishes from Mount Lebanon: The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (eleventh series), n. 56, p. 537-648. Yahya, Harun. Atlas of Creation – Volume 3 – Fossil Specimens of Marine Creatures 2 – Coelacanth from Lebanon. http://harunyahya.com/en/Books/4632/atlas-of-creation--/chapter/4495
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013