Revision of the Danian Cow Sharks, Sand Tiger Sharks, and Goblin Sharks (Hexanchidae, Odontaspididae, and Mitsukurinidae) from Southern Sweden

Abstract

ABSTRACT Chemical preparation of previously illustrated selachian teeth together with recently collected material from the upper part (early-middle NP3) of the Danian sequence in the Limhamn quarry, Skåne, southern Sweden, have revealed a rich and diverse selachian fauna. The three families dealt with here, i.e., Hexanchidae, Odontaspididae, and Mitsukurinidae, are represented by at least eight species, including two new ones, assigned to seven genera; Hexanchus spp., Heptranchias sp., Notorynchus sp., Notidanodon brotzeni sp. nov., Carcharias gracilis, C. aff. C. tenuis, Odontaspis speyeri, and Striatolamia cederstroemi sp. nov. At the genus level, the hexanchid fauna is the most diverse fossil assemblage yet reported. Striatolamia cederstroemi sp. nov. is the oldest known species of the genus and its tooth morphology indicates that Striatolamia may be more closely related to Anomotodon than to the odontaspidids.