Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs
A rich fossil record of teeth shows that many living shark families’ origins lie deep in the Mesozoic. Skeletal fossils of the sharks to whom these teeth belonged are far rarer and when they are preserved are often flattened, hindering understanding of the evolutionary radiation of living shark grou...
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The Royal Society
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242011 |
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| author | Richard P. Dearden Zerina Johanson Helen L. O’Neill Kieran Miles Emma L. Bernard Brett Clark Charlie J. Underwood Martin Rücklin |
| author_facet | Richard P. Dearden Zerina Johanson Helen L. O’Neill Kieran Miles Emma L. Bernard Brett Clark Charlie J. Underwood Martin Rücklin |
| author_sort | Richard P. Dearden |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A rich fossil record of teeth shows that many living shark families’ origins lie deep in the Mesozoic. Skeletal fossils of the sharks to whom these teeth belonged are far rarer and when they are preserved are often flattened, hindering understanding of the evolutionary radiation of living shark groups. Here we use computed tomography to describe two articulated Upper Cretaceous shark skeletons from the Chalk of the UK preserving three-dimensional neurocrania, visceral cartilages, pectoral skeletons and vertebrae. These fossils display skeletal anatomies characteristic of the Parascylliidae, a family of Orectolobiformes now endemic to Australia and the Indo Pacific. However, they differ in having a more heavily mineralized braincase and a tri-basal pectoral fin endoskeleton, while their teeth can be attributed to a new species of the problematic taxon Pararhincodon. Phylogenetic analysis of these new fossils confirms that Pararhincodon is a stem-group parascylliid, providing insight into the evolution of parascylliids’ distinctive anatomy during the late Mesozoic–Cenozoic shift in orectolobiform biodiversity from the Northern Atlantic to the Indo Pacific. Meanwhile both Pararhincodon and extant parascylliids have a distinctive vertebral morphology previously described only in Carcharhiniformes, contributing a skeletal perspective to the picture emerging from macroevolutionary analyses of coastal, small-bodied origins for galeomorphs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d92da83274af464a916890d32fecb027 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
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| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-d92da83274af464a916890d32fecb0272025-08-20T01:47:54ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-04-0112410.1098/rsos.242011Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphsRichard P. Dearden0Zerina Johanson1Helen L. O’Neill2Kieran Miles3Emma L. Bernard4Brett Clark5Charlie J. Underwood6Martin Rücklin7Vertebrate Evolution, Development, and Ecology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden 2333 CR, The NetherlandsNatural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UKCSIRO Australian National Fish Collection, National Research Collections Australia, Hobart, Tasmania TAS 7001, AustraliaNatural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UKNatural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UKNatural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UKSchool of Natural Sciences, Birkbeck College, London WC1E 7HX, UKVertebrate Evolution, Development, and Ecology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden 2333 CR, The NetherlandsA rich fossil record of teeth shows that many living shark families’ origins lie deep in the Mesozoic. Skeletal fossils of the sharks to whom these teeth belonged are far rarer and when they are preserved are often flattened, hindering understanding of the evolutionary radiation of living shark groups. Here we use computed tomography to describe two articulated Upper Cretaceous shark skeletons from the Chalk of the UK preserving three-dimensional neurocrania, visceral cartilages, pectoral skeletons and vertebrae. These fossils display skeletal anatomies characteristic of the Parascylliidae, a family of Orectolobiformes now endemic to Australia and the Indo Pacific. However, they differ in having a more heavily mineralized braincase and a tri-basal pectoral fin endoskeleton, while their teeth can be attributed to a new species of the problematic taxon Pararhincodon. Phylogenetic analysis of these new fossils confirms that Pararhincodon is a stem-group parascylliid, providing insight into the evolution of parascylliids’ distinctive anatomy during the late Mesozoic–Cenozoic shift in orectolobiform biodiversity from the Northern Atlantic to the Indo Pacific. Meanwhile both Pararhincodon and extant parascylliids have a distinctive vertebral morphology previously described only in Carcharhiniformes, contributing a skeletal perspective to the picture emerging from macroevolutionary analyses of coastal, small-bodied origins for galeomorphs.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242011ElasmobranchiiOrectolobiformesGaleomorphiiCT scanningCretaceous |
| spellingShingle | Richard P. Dearden Zerina Johanson Helen L. O’Neill Kieran Miles Emma L. Bernard Brett Clark Charlie J. Underwood Martin Rücklin Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs Royal Society Open Science Elasmobranchii Orectolobiformes Galeomorphii CT scanning Cretaceous |
| title | Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs |
| title_full | Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs |
| title_fullStr | Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs |
| title_short | Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs |
| title_sort | three dimensional fossils of a cretaceous collared carpet shark parascylliidae orectolobiformes shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs |
| topic | Elasmobranchii Orectolobiformes Galeomorphii CT scanning Cretaceous |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242011 |
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