First Occurrence of Paramobula fragilis from New Jesey?

[fossilsofnj]

As suggested by Dr. Earl Manning this may be the first occurrence of Paramobula fragilis reported from New Jersey. As the name implies these things are fragile and are normally found incomplete as is this one.  Looking to see if anyone knows of previous specimens from NJ. Specimen will most likely end up in the New Jersey State Museum collection.

Common name – Extinct Devil Ray
Scientific name – Paramobula fragilis (CAPPETTA 1970), aka Mobula  fragilis
Age – Miocene
Formation – Kirkwood Formation

 

john

[siteseer]

I think you're right.  The species was described in 1970 by Henri Capeetta within the genus Manta.  The species was later assigned to the new genus Paramobula ten years later by Friedrich Pfeil.  Cappetta thought it was premature to name a new genus so he didn't list it in his Chondrichthyes II (his 1987 review of Mesozoic-Cenozoic sharks and rays).  It appears the teeth are distinct enough from Manta or Mobula though there has been some argument in favor of Paramobula representing an adult form with one extinct species of Mobula being the juvenile (Cicimurri and Knight, 2009 discuss the matter).

 

The Cicimurri and Knight paper is a great one to have - lots of good into.

 

Cicimurri, D.J. and J.L. KNIGHT.  2009.

Late Oligocene sharks and rays from the Chandler Bridge Formation, Dorchester County, South Carolina, USA. Acta Paleont. Pol. 54 (4): 627-647.

 

 

 

[fossilsofnj]

Thanks siteseer, will check out that paper. I checked with Dave Parris of The New Jersey State Museum and they do not have one in their collection but are definitely interested in this example, which of course will be donated.

 Donations, an old topic but worth repeating. I strongly believe that anything of scientific value should be offered as a donation. It's important to this hobby that professionals and institutions alike have the confidence that the amateur collector can be a reliable and valuable resource. Too many collecting sites are being closed and laws passed limiting collecting.

 

john

[Plax]

18 hours ago, fossilsofnj said:

Thanks siteseer, will check out that paper. I checked with Dave Parris of The New Jersey State Museum and they do not have one in their collection but are definitely interested in this example, which of course will be donated.

 Donations, an old topic but worth repeating. I strongly believe that anything of scientific value should be offered as a donation. It's important to this hobby that professionals and institutions alike have the confidence that the amateur collector can be a reliable and valuable resource. Too many collecting sites are being closed and laws passed limiting collecting.

 

john

amen John