Record of the slender mola, genus Ranzania (Teleostei, Tetraodontiformes), in the Miocene of the Chelif Basin, Algeria

A fossil slender mola (Tetraodontiformes, Molidae) is described from the Miocene (Messinian) of the Chelif Basin, Algeria. The material consists of a single individual largely incomplete, solely represented by part of the anal-fin pterygiophores complement. The specimen is referred to the genus Ranzania because of the elongate slender morphology and thick and well-ossified consistence of the bones, which are also characterized by a dense and moderately spongy texture. However, it has been left unnamed, awaiting more complete and better-preserved material. This is the first occurrence of the genus Ranzania, and more generally of the family Molidae, in the Messinian of the Mediterranean. It provides new data about the structure and diversity of Miocene pelagic fish communities of the Chelif Basin.