New species of sand lance (Teleostei, Ammodytidae) from the Miocene of Algeria

Gymnammodytes oranensis n. sp. (Teleostei, Perciformes, Ammodytidae) is described from upper Miocene marine deposits of Gambetta, near Oran, northwestern Algeria. This species is represented by four articulated but incomplete skeletons. Gymnammodytes oranensis n. sp. differs from Recent species of the genus in possessing a not specialized premaxilla. Gymnammodytes oranensis n. sp. is the earliest known occurrence of the genus Gymnammodytes as skeletal remains. The specimens here described provide unequivocal evidence of the presence of the Ammodytidae in the Miocene of the Mediterranean.