The first Triassic elasmobranch teeth from the Southern Hemisphere (Canterbury, New Zealand)

ABSTRACT

The Triassic record of modern sharks, rays, and skates (Elasmobranchii) is scattered and geographically biased towards the Northern Hemisphere and Europe in particular. Here, we report the first Triassic elasmobranch teeth from the Southern Hemisphere, originating from Norian strata of New Zealand. The teeth are few in numbers but relatively well preserved and indicate the presence of three different taxa, that all can be included in the extinct order Synechodontiformes. Different dental characters and combinations of characters suggest that the teeth represent previously undescribed species with apparently no close relatives in the Triassic elasmobranch record from the Northern Hemisphere.

KEYWORDS:

• Shark
• elasmobranch
• Southern Hemisphere
• Triassic
• Synechodontiformes

Acknowledgements

Most of the research done by JR was funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet). HJC thanks geology colleagues and field companions M. Cave, S. Lamb, and L. Hoke for their part in reconnaissance geology of this remote part of New Zealand on two separate excursions in May 1986 and February 1988. GNS Science colleague I. Raine is thanked for attempting (unsuccessfully) to extract palynomorphs, and B. Lucovic is thanked for her cartographic skills. Sincere thanks for important comments by G. Cuny, C. Duffin and C. Underwood that improved an earlier draft of the manuscript, as well as comments by journal referees J. Kriwet and G. Cuny.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Swedish Research Council.