Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and marine paleontologist Aaron O'Dea have discovered a new species of fossilized fish in Panama, naming it Hoplostethus boyae in honor of Brígida de Gracia. De Gracia is a research technician at Naos and a specialist in identifying marine fossils, as well as the world's only Ngäbe marine paleontologist.
According to O'Dea, an extraordinary collection of fossil otoliths was found in the late Miocene Chagres Formation (around 7 million years ago) near Piña in the province of Colón, Panama. The researchers collected over 6,200 fish otoliths from these rocks, representing one of the richest fish fossil assemblages ever documented in the world.
The researchers point out that seven million years ago, the waters of Panama were teeming with life. The small plankton thrived in the water, feeding a rich community on the seafloor. This, in turn, supported a wide variety of fish, including large predators like whales, sharks (including the giant megalodon), swordfish, and even Ishtminia panamensis, an ancient relative of river dolphins.
At night, countless lanternfish would have created living galaxies of bioluminescent light pulsing through the dark waters. Otoliths are the "ear stones" of bony fish, which often fossilize in seafloor sediments. Because each fish species has unique otoliths, researchers can identify ancient species from them alone.
The etymology also recognizes how the Ngäbe and their ancestors have inhabited the Isthmus of Panama for millennia, developing deep traditional ecological knowledge connected to marine productivity cycles, creating a bridge between then and now.
"Each fossil from this remarkable site helps to reconstruct the past, revealing how the formation of the Isthmus transformed not just geography, but entire ocean ecosystems," commented O'Dea.
The article, published in the journal PeerJ, also described three other new extinct species from the fossil site: Chiloconger aflorens sp. nov., Malakichthys schwarzhansi sp. nov., and Dasyscopelus inopinatus sp. nov. The species names were chosen with special meaning. For instance, Hoplostethus boyae was named after Brígida, with "Boya" being her traditional Ngäbe name. Chiloconger aflorens comes from the Spanish word " afloramiento " (outcrop), as this small eel lived in what is believed to be an ancient upwelling system. Malakichthys schwarzhansi honors Werner Schwarzhans, an ichthyologist and paleontologist from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, while Dasyscopelus inopinatus means "unexpected" in Latin due to its mixed characteristics.
"For me, my family and friends, having a species named in my honor is synonymous with great joy and excitement," says Brígida, who received an illustration of the species named after her from O'Dea's lab, created by lab student Natasha Hinojosa.
