Abstract
Fossil teleostean otoliths from the Mississippi River mudlumps are described for the first time. Analysis of the 446 otoliths obtained from the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene sediment of a Mississippi River mudlump in the South Pass area of Louisiana revealed the presence of a varied teleostean fauna. The otoliths represent at least 25 families and 40 species of marine fishes. Bregmaceros, a small, cod-like fish that is common on the middle shelf of the present Gulf of Mexico, comprised 42 percent of the total number of otoliths recovered. The otoliths represented teleosts that are presently found in marine waters less than 200 meters in depth. Comparison of the otoliths to modern analogues indicated a depositional environment of middle to outer shelf with temperate to tropical conditions.

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