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Blackfish
Family
Labridae
Wrasses
Tautoga sp. (Mitchill, 1814)
Age - Paleocene to
present - Occurrence - Common
The most common fossil remains of the
Tautoga
sp. in New Jersey are the individual pharyngeal teeth located in the
back of ther
throat, which allowed
them to pick-up, crush, and sort hard prey such as mollusks and
crustaceans. These isolated teeth are conical in shape and range in size
from 2 - 5 mm and similar to the pharyngeal teeth of Pogonias.
Plate 1
Tautoga
sp. pharyngeal teeth
Monmouth County, NJ
Modern blackfish pharyngeal plates with teeth
Plate 2.
Comparison of
Tautoga
sp / Pogonias sp. pharyngeal teeth.
Tautoga
teeth are more conical with a longer root.
Blackfish showing the position of the lower
pharyngeal plates
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