A new skeletal remain of the durophagous shark, Ptychodus mortoni, from the Upper Cretaceous of North America: an indication of gigantic body size

作者：Shimada Kenshu^*; Everhart Michael J; Decker Ramo; Decker Pamela D

来源：Cretaceous Research, 2010, 31(2): 249-254.

DOI：10.1016/j.cretres.2009.11.005

• Late Cretaceous
• Niobrara Chalk
• Ptychodontidae
• Ptychodus
• Shark
• Western Interior Seaway

Prychodus mortoni Mantell is a Late Cretaceous shark that possessed pavement-like tooth plates that were used to feed on hard-shelled macroinvertebrates (durophagy). Here, we describe a new specimen of P. mortoni from the Fort Hays Limestone Member of the Niobrara Chalk in Kansas, USA, that consists of associated teeth, placoid scales, and a portion of the right upper jaw. Although the specimen is fragmentary, this fossil supports the previously proposed contention that P. mortoni was a gigantic animal that likely reached at least 10 m in total body length with an estimated jaw length of nearly 1 m.

• 出版日期2010-4