Shark/ray teeth ID help

[dolevfab]

Hello everyone, 

 

I have a set of teeth from marine sediment of campanian age from the middle east.

 

After many tries to identify, I couldnt pinpoint them exactly. Some of the rays feel like Rhombodus, but they are not a perfect match...

I would Really appreciate any help!

 

Please note there are 6 ray teeth total, just different sides. 

Also the drawing has (some of) the general types I could distinguish. 

 

Thank you! 

Dolev

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by dolevfab

[ClearLake]

I'm no expert, but looking in the books I have at my disposal, they certainly look like Rhombodus to me, especially A and D.  The thick, crown with the wrinkled enamel on the faces is what I see as indicating this genus.  Also, check out elasmo.com for additional info.

[doushantuo]

those drawings are yours?If so, good work!

I'm not much of a shark expert,so here's a shot in the dark; Rhombodus ibericus?

Edited March 29, 2023 by doushantuo

[dolevfab]

50 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

those drawings are yours?If so, good work!

I'm not much of a shark expert,so here's a shot in the dark; Rhombodus ibericus?

Thanks!  But my main problem with Rhombodus is that my specimens are not squere, but rather hexagonal.. Also the edges are not flat like rhombodus, so they cannot interlock as tightly. 

[ClearLake]

6 hours ago, dolevfab said:

But my main problem with Rhombodus is that my specimens are not squere, but rather hexagonal

Well, yes, I do see that now.  Hmmm, you are looking for the genus Hexodus (just kidding, I made that up).  But maybe look at Brachyrhizodus.  The teeth are generally longer but apparently in a certain position they are hexagonal shaped (see the picture below from elasmo.com) and look more like yours.

 

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by ClearLake

[dolevfab]

12 hours ago, ClearLake said:

But maybe look at Brachyrhizodus.  

 

 

 the problem here is that there are no long teeth in the sample, out of about 20 teeth. Thanks for the help! 

[dolevfab]

@Al Dente Would you mind pitching in? 

[Al Dente]

2 hours ago, dolevfab said:

@Al Dente Would you mind pitching in? 

I’m away from my reference papers and books right now. I’ll try to find a match when I get back.

[Al Dente]

On 3/29/2023 at 5:41 AM, dolevfab said:

But my main problem with Rhombodus is that my specimens are not squere, but rather hexagonal

 

There are some published accounts where they identified hexagonal teeth as Rhombodus. IDs might be incorrect but I'm not sure. Here's an example from "A neoselachian shark fauna from the Late Cretaceous of Senegal" Cuny, Martin and Sarr. Other possibilities for your teeth are Angolabatis, Hypsobatis, and Youssobatis.

 

 

[dolevfab]

22 hours ago, Al Dente said:

 

There are some published accounts where they identified hexagonal teeth as Rhombodus. Other possibilities for your teeth are Angolabatis, Hypsobatis, and Youssobatis.

 

 

Thank you for the help, 

Im currently checking the species you proposed.  Sadly I cant access the original descriptions.. In reading a paper on Angolabatis from patagonia they say that the 3 species you mentioned are unified by lacking a transverse carinae on the occlusal surface (top of tooth). Yet, another

paper, dealing with the phosphates of Syria identified a tooth as Youssobatis which clearly has such a carina on top of the crown. And it includes capetta of all people. 10.1017/S0016756800003988 

Would you mind sharing how you came to these options? Any original/direct descriptions would be fantastic! 

 

Does Rhombodus have a transverse carina on the top of the tooth? 

About Rhombodus im not entirely sure as the teeth have much thicker and rounded carina on the side of the cusp. However this may be within the expecter interspecific variation. I need to check all rhombodus species.. 

 

Also, notice tooth A, on image No. 2. Its WEIRD. the base of th cusp is much wider then the top worn surface. The sides tapering towards the top, and the carina on them are fat and rounded. 

[Al Dente]

1 hour ago, dolevfab said:

Does Rhombodus have a transverse carina on the top of the tooth? 

No. I’ve never seen one with a ridge.

1 hour ago, dolevfab said:

Sadly I cant access the original descriptions.

I don’t have access to the original papers but I found newer papers that mention these genera when describing Rhombodus teeth and was able to find a few images.

 

Here’s an image of Yousoubatis I found online- 

[Al Dente]

And here is an image of Angolabatis- 

 

 

 

 

[Al Dente]

The only photo of Hypsobatis is from Patrick DeCock’s old website of Moroccan teeth. I had to use the website “Wayback Machine” to find it. 
 

 

[dolevfab]

1 hour ago, Al Dente said:

 

 

 

Here’s an image of Youssoubatis I found online- 

 

If this paper is accurate, youssobatis  is the best fit so far. Maybe hypsobatis. All depends on whether they are described as having a carinae which in some papers is mentioned as absent.. I will keep on looking, and update the post in case I find something. 

 

Thank you for the help! 

 

Do you have any suggestions for the shark teeth above? Especually numbers: 1,3,6,9.

 

[Al Dente]

22 hours ago, dolevfab said:

Do you have any suggestions for the shark teeth above? Especually numbers: 1,3,6,9.

Teeth #1-3 might all be the same. Difficult to confidently ID because many species have this general shape. One guess could be Scapanorhynchus. Number 6 and #9 are most likely Cretalamna, maybe two different species.