Jefitchia copelandi Dante & Frizzell in Frizzell & Dante 1965
Creators: name: Ebersole, Jun A.
name: Cicimurri, David J.
name: Stringer, Gary L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Sciaenidae
Jefitchia
Jefitchia copelandi

description: Jefitchia copelandi Frizzell & Dante, 1965
Fig. 71 Q–R
Jefitchia copelandi Frizzell & Dante, 1965: 705, pl. 87, figs 3–4, 9, pl. 88, figs 1–2, 6.
“genus Sciaenidarum ” aff. copelandi – Müller 1999: 161, pl. 33, fig. 22.
“ Sciaenida ” copelandi – Nolf 2013: 107, pl. 281.
Material examined
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Alabama • 21 otoliths; MSC 7299.1, MSC 7299.2, MSC 7299.3, MSC 39042.9, MSC 39042.10, MSC 39042.11, MSC 39042.13, MSC 39053, GLS otolith comparative collection (11 specimens), WSU CC 473.3, WSU CC 473.4.
Description
Sagitta subcircular to subquadrate in outline. Height/length ratios exhibit considerable range related to increasing size. Smaller specimens (less than 2.5 mm) have ratios from around 65–75%; larger specimens (some exceed 12 mm) range from around 80–90%. Inner face convex, smooth. Margins smooth except for fine crenulations on very small juveniles. Dorsal margin nearly straight to somewhat arched. Conspicuous posterodorsal angle. Posterior margin straight to slightly curving inward; ventral margin broadly but unevenly rounded. Anterior margin evenly rounded. Very prominent heterosulcoid-type sulcus. Ostium filled with colliculum, moderately narrow, covers about 35% of length of inner face. Anterior of ostium even with anterior margin of sagitta. Dorsal and ventral margins of ostium essentially parallel anteriorly, but arch outwardly in posterior portion. Posterior margin of ostium nearly vertical. Cauda very long and narrow, has horizontal portion and sharply downturned portion. Horizontal portion of cauda significantly shorter than downturned portion, less excavated. Downturned portion of cauda more excavated, significantly longer, wider. Angle of horizontal and downturned portions around 90-degrees. Downturned portion almost reaches ventral margin. Outer face usually slightly concave, sculptured.
Remarks
Jefitchia copelandi has characteristics in common with Sciaena intermedius (see above), but J. copelandi is easily distinguished by its narrower ostium, and the dorsal and ventral margins of the ostium are essentially straight and parallel in the anterior portion (Nolf 2013: pl. 281). Jefitchia copelandi is also similar to J. claybornensis (see below) but differs by the less elongate outline (higher height/length ratios) of J. copelandi, as well as by its much longer downturned portion of the cauda, and the angle of the downturned portion of the cauda (90-degrees or more from horizontal). The species appears to have a wide geographical range in the Eocene, as it is known from numerous locations in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia (Frizzell & Dante 1965; Breard & Stringer 1999; Müller 1999).
Stratigraphic and geographic range in Alabama
Sagittae of J. copelandi have been recovered from the “upper” Lisbon Formation at site ACh-8 and the Gosport Sand at site AMo-4. Bartonian, zones NP16 and NP17.
description: Published as part of Ebersole, Jun A., Cicimurri, David J. & Stringer, Gary L., 2019, Taxonomy and biostratigraphy of the elasmobranchs and bony fishes (Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes) of the lower-to-middle Eocene (Ypresian to Bartonian) Claiborne Group in Alabama, USA, including an analysis of otoliths, pp. 1-274 in European Journal of Taxonomy 585 on pages 215-216, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2019.585, http://zenodo.org/record/3660259