A new elasmobranch assemblage from the early Eocene (Ypresian) Fishburne Formation of Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA

Abstract

A rich elasmobranch assemblage was recovered from the early Eocene (Ypresian) Fishburne Formation in a limestone quarry at Jamestown, Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA. Reported herein are 22 species belonging to 8 orders, at least 15 families, and 21 genera. It includes the first occurrence of Protoginglymostoma from North America. Many of the reported species have large palaeobiogeographical ranges and inhabited waters on both sides of the Atlantic, whereas others were endemic to the east coast of North America. The paucity of sizeable dentition from several of the larger species in this assemblage, and the apparent absence of relatively large macrophagous species found in contemporaneous deposits elsewhere, suggests the Jamestown site may represent a nursery ground and refuge for young and smaller individuals.

Eocene sand tiger sharks (Lamniformes, Odontaspididae) from the Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte, Italy: palaeobiology, palaeobiogeography and evolutionary significance

“…This can also explain, at least in part, the exclusive presence of juvenile individuals of the triakid species Galeorhinus cuvieri in the Pesciara setting, contrary to the hypothesis of the presence of a nursery area proposed by Fanti et al (2016). Our hypothesis also is supported by the fact that was restricted to the eastern coast of North America (Case 1994;Case et al 2015; see next paragraph), and the fact that the Bolca lies in an area of high number of B. lerichei occurrences in the Ypresian Tethys.…”

“…The decrease in the occurrence of B. lerichei at the beginning of the Lutetian coincides with the first appearance of B. koerti which rapidly spread to in North America, Europe, North and Western Africa up to the Priabonian (see Stromer 1910;White 1926;Casier 1943, 1959;Arambourg 1952;Casier 1957;Antunes 1964;Cappetta and Traverse 1988;Dutheil 1991;Dutheil and Merle 1992;González-Barba 2003;Parmley et al 2003;Robb 2006;Timmerman and Chandler 2008;Adnet et al 2010;Underwood et al 2011). The species B. atlasi and B. mississippiensis conversely appear to be restricted only to the Thanetian-Ypresian of North Africa (Arambourg 1952;Cappetta 2012) and North America (Case 1994;Case et al 2015), respectively.…”

“…However, the validity of B. twiggsensis was later questioned by Adnet et al (2011) and Cappetta and Case (2016) recently reassigned this species to Tethylamna, a genus erected for material recovered from the Lutetian of Alabama. Although Cappetta (2006) considered B. mississippiensis from the Thanetian to the Ypresian of North America (see also Case 1994) to be a junior synonymy of B. lerichei, Case et al (2015) consider B. mississippiensis as a valid species. Finally, Carcharias borodini and C. hynei from the Thanetian to Ypresian of Mississippi (Case 1994) are considered to be junior synonyms of B. lerichei by Cappetta (2006).…”

A late Maastrichtian selachian assemblage from the Peedee Formation of North Carolina, USA.

“…The Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains of the United States have many Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene marine deposits that are rich in selachian (shark and ray) material (e.g., Ward and Wiest 1990;Kent 1994;Case 1981Case , 1994Parmley and Cicimurri 2003;Cicimurri 2007;Case et al 2015). Herein, we describe an assemblage recovered from the late Maastrichtian Island Creek Member of the Peedee Formation at Castle Hayne, New Hanover County, North Carolina.…”

Revision of the Eocene ‘Platyrhina’ species from the Bolca Lagerstätte (Italy) reveals the first panray (Batomorphii: Zanobatidae) in the fossil record

“…†Platyrhina ypresiensis and †P. dockeryi from the Eocene of Belgium and the USA have been recently transferred to the myliobatiform genus †Hypolophodon Cappetta, 1980(Cappetta 2012Case et al 2015). †Britobatos primarmatus (Woodward, 1889), from the Santonian of Lebanon, was suggested to belong to the Platyrhinidae by Brito & Dutheil (2004), although Claeson et al (2013) excluded this taxon from this family, instead placing it as a sister to the family.…”