First record of an Early Cretaceous shark (Chondrichthyes, Neoselachii) from Antarctica

A shark tooth from the Spartan Glacier Formation of the Fossil Bluff Group of Alexander Island, Antarctic Peninsula is described and assigned to Palaeospinacidae, an extinct group of neoselachian sharks. This tooth was previously supposed to have been recovered from Middle Jurassic strata and to bel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Author: KRIWET, JÜRGEN
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2003
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102003001627
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102003001627
Description
Summary:A shark tooth from the Spartan Glacier Formation of the Fossil Bluff Group of Alexander Island, Antarctic Peninsula is described and assigned to Palaeospinacidae, an extinct group of neoselachian sharks. This tooth was previously supposed to have been recovered from Middle Jurassic strata and to belong to Hybodus . However, sedimentation of the Spartan Glacier Formation was from the Valangian to Aptian. Consequently, an Early Cretaceous age is assigned to the specimen although its exact stratigraphical horizon is unknown. A generic assignment, however, is not possible although it may belong to Paraorthacodus . This specimen represents the first record of a neoselachian from the Early Cretaceous of Antarctica.