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A catshark (Neoselachii, Carcharhiniformes, Scyliorhinidae) from the Late Jurassic of Germany

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Abstract

A new genus and species of catshark (Neoselachii, Carcharhiniformes, Scyliorhinidae) —Bavariscyllium tischlingeri n. gen. n. sp. — is described from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Plattenkalke of South Germany. The new taxon is known from a single articulated skeleton having the skull, the trunk and all of the fins preserved. The position of the first dorsal fin in relation to the pelvic fins and the dental morphology shows that the specimen belongs into the neoselachian family Scyliorhinidae. Two isolated tooth crowns from the Kimmeridgian of North Germany are identified asBavariscyllium sp. and represent the oldest unambigious fossil record of the Scyliorhinidae known so far.

Kurzfassung

Auf der Basis eines artikulierten Skelettes mit Schädel und allen Flossen aus den oberjurassischen (tithonzeitlichen) Plattenkalken Süddeutschlands wird eine neue Gattung und Art von Katzenhaien (Neoselachii, Carcharhiniformes, Scyliorhinidae) —Bavariscyllium tischlingeri n. gen. n. sp. — beschrieben. Die Stellung der ersten Rückenflosse im Verhältnis zu den Bauchflossen sowie die Zahnmorphologie belegen eindeutig die Zugehörigkeit vonBavariscyllium tischlingeri n. gen. n. sp. zur Neoselachierfamilie Scyliorhinidae. Zwei isolierte Zähne aus dem Oberjura (Kimmeridgium) von Norddeutschland werdenBavariscyllium sp. zugeordnet und stellen die bislang ältesten unzweifelhaften fossilen Reste der Scyliorhinidae dar.

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  1. Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Universität Hannover, Callinstr. 30, D-30167, Hannover, Germany

    Detlev Thies

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Thies, D. A catshark (Neoselachii, Carcharhiniformes, Scyliorhinidae) from the Late Jurassic of Germany. Paläontol Z 79, 339–348 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02991927

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