A Few Catsharks From The Carolinas

[siteseer]

I changed my mind on that first Paleocene tooth assuming that it is an isolated crown. I thought it was a crown and root but after zooming in it looks like just a crown. In my PM I asked for a view of the opposite (lingual) side.

Now I see it as a Foumtizia but the second tooth does not match up to figures in Noubhani and Cappetta (1997).

Jess

Jess

The Harleyville specimens are from what is frequently called the "greencap". It is nice to work with because it will go through a fine screen without collecting much sand, making picking the material fairly easy. We get similar green clayey material on top of the Castle Hayne Formation in North Carolina. I try to target the stuff when looking for micros. Most of the Peedee Formation is too sandy to look for small teeth. There are a couple of locations where the sand is fine enough to go through a screen making the search for teeth a lot easier. I'm now in the process of photographing some of the ray teeth (Rhinobatos, Rhychobatus and similar teeth) that I have in my collection but I have recently been sidetracked with house repairs that I have put off for years and now needs my attention. Maybe in a month or two I will be able to get back to photographing.

[siteseer]

The teeth ID'ed as Foumtizia cf. zhelezkoi do resemble teeth ID'ed from the London Clay as F. pattersoni. I don't know those species.

I agree that the teeth in that second group are Pachyscyllium. They resemble teeth figured as Scyliorhinus dachiardi in Reinecke et al.(2001) and that species was synonymized with Pachyscyllium albigensis in 2005 (though I don't have that article).

I agree on the Premontreia teeth though I don't know how to separate species for those.

I don't recognize that last group of teeth identified as Pachyscyllium. I wondered if they could be early Triakis teeth.

I agree on the ID's of the Harleyville teeth.

Jess.

Reinecke, T., H. Stapf, and M. Raisch. 2001.

Die Selachier und Chimaren des unteren Meeressandes und schleichsandes in Mainzer Becken (Rupelium, unteres oligozan). Palaeontos 1. Palaeo Publishing and Library vzw. 73p. plus plates.

Eocene:

Unfortunately many of these teeth are from quarries no longer open to collectors. Here are some Castle Hayne Formation teeth:

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Edited April 4, 2013 by siteseer

[siteseer]

When you get to Miocene catsharks, you start to see relatives of modern forms. Pachyscyllium and Foumtizia die out sometime during or after the Miocene while Cephaloscyllium and Apristurus are first known during that epoch. There are almost no published photos of modern scyliorhinid teeth though elasmo.com shows a few dentitions. You should look for:

Herman, J., M. Hovestadt-Euler, and D. C. Hovestadt. 1990.

Contributions to the study of the comparative morphology of teeth and other relevant ichthyodorulites in living supraspecific taxa of chondrichthyan fishes. Bulletin de L'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Biologie. Part A: Selachii. No 2b: Order: Carcharhiniformes - Family: Scyliorhinidae. 608:181-230.

It is not comprehensive (one species per known genus shown) but it provides figures for representatives for most of the known modern genera.

A friend once sent me a photocopy of an interesting weekly newspaper article:

Burton, M. 1951.

The teeth and scales of sharks. The Illustrated London News. The World of Science. p. 22. January 6, 1951.

It shows magnifications of teeth and dermal denticles of the catshark Scyliorhinus caniculus

Jess.

Miocene:

Here are some Lee Creek teeth. Some collectors call these different names based on whether they have labial folds or not but it is my opinion that all the larger ones are Pachyscyllium regardless of labial folds.

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There is a tiny catshark that can be found by fine screening the dark Pungo sands. It looks like a good fit for Scyliorhinus based on the U-shaped labial surface with folds on the lower portion and prominent lingual protuberance of the root.

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[Coco]

When you get to Miocene catsharks, you start to see relatives of modern forms. Pachyscyllium and Foumtizia die out sometime during or after the Miocene while Cephaloscyllium and Apristurus are first known during that epoch. There are almost no published photos of modern scyliorhinid teeth though elasmo.com shows a few dentitions.

I have a pic of modern Scyliorhinus canicula, but it isn't a great one :

Hope this help.

Coco

[Al Dente]

Jess - I'll take some more photos of the Paleocene tooth from different angles sometime this weekend.

Coco - thanks for posting the Scyliorhinus jaw. I have a modern catshark jaw but I don't have an identification for it. It most likely came from the Philippines. I bought it at a shell shop.

[Coco]

Al Dente, I know only the 2 recent species we find on our Atlantic coast : Scyliorhinus canicula and Scyliorhinus stellaris. I am afraid I can't help you to identify yours, but I would see a pic if you have one

Coco

[Lee Taylor]

Nice collection! I collect in South Carolina. In the Lowcountry. My targets are the creeks and riverbeds.

Like the quality, form, shape, and colors. Looks like classic fossil show presentation material.

[Al Dente]

I changed my mind on that first Paleocene tooth assuming that it is an isolated crown. I thought it was a crown and root but after zooming in it looks like just a crown. In my PM I asked for a view of the opposite (lingual) side.

Here are a couple more views of this tooth. It is tiny.

[Al Dente]

Here are some close up photos of my modern catshark jaw. It was purchased at a shell shop where most of the shells were imported from the Philippines. I would guess the shark jaw is also from there. Atelomycterus marmoratus is a common catshark from there. The J-elasmo website has some nice pictures of teeth from some modern catsharks: http://homepage2.nifty.com/megalodon/Schylionidae2.html

[nonmammalian]

Al, beautiful little Scyliorhinid teeth! Thanks a lot for posting. That really made my day and motivated me to take some modern pics for you guys. I didn't want to hijack your thread so I posted them here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/29872-shark-site/?p=406994

[fossilhunter21]

Very cool teeth!