A New Species of Stromateid Fish (Perciformes, Stromateoidei) of the Genus Pinichthys from the Tarkhanian (Lowermost Middle Miocene) of the Northwestern Caucasus.

The stromateid fish Pinichthys shirvanensis sp. nov. (Perciformes, Stromateoidei), the latest species of the Oligocene–Miocene genus Pinichthys Bannikov, 1985, is described from the Tarkhanian (lowermost Middle Miocene) of the northwestern Caucasus (Krasnodar Region, Pshekha River) based on complete and incomplete skeletons. The new species differs from P. pulcher Bannikov, 1988 and P. fractus Bannikov, 1985 in having fewer soft rays in the anal fin and spines in the dorsal fin, a wider hypural diastema, and a greater number of abdominal vertebrae. Tricuspid teeth in the oral jaws, which are characteristic of Stromateidae, are documented in Pinichthys for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]