ABSTRACT The Sangkarewang Formation of the Ombilin Basin in Sumatra, Indonesia, has been known for its fossil fishes for over 150 years, and a monograph on the fishes from freshwater… Click to show full abstract
ABSTRACT The Sangkarewang Formation of the Ombilin Basin in Sumatra, Indonesia, has been known for its fossil fishes for over 150 years, and a monograph on the fishes from freshwater deposits of the basin was published over 80 years ago. Most of the material previously reported was placed in living genera; however, based on reexamination of some previously collected material and newly collected material, none of the taxa from these deposits are considered to be congeneric with any modern fishes. New collections, from paper shales representing deeper water in the paleolake than that previously sampled, are composed predominantly of cyprinoid fishes. Two previously unreported cyprinoid taxa are here named as new: Sangkarewangia sumatranus, gen. et sp. nov., and Hadromos sandersae, gen. et sp. nov. The previously described Puntius bussyi is removed to Pauciuncus, gen. nov., yielding Pauciuncus bussyi, comb. nov. All of the cyprinoids from the formation, those reported here as new as well as those previously reported, are assessed for their possible subfamily affinities. Most belong to Barbinae, with Labeoninae, Smiliogastrinae, and Rasborinae tentatively represented. The age of the Sangkarewang Formation has been controversial; it has been variously attributed to Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, and Miocene. Although the fish fauna does not definitively date the formation, recent studies support an early to mid-Eocene age, and the ichthyofauna does not contradict this.
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.