Late Cretaceous anacoracid sharks (Squalicorax) from Duwi Formation, Gebel Duwi, central Eastern Desert, Egypt: qualitative and quantitative analyses

ABSTRACT

The present work introduces different qualitative and quantitative analyses for the fossil shark teeth of the genus Squalicorax. Forty-five fossil teeth were collected from the Late Cretaceous Duwi Formation, at Gebel Duwi, central Eastern Desert, Egypt. The collected teeth were assigned to four species in genus Squalicorax; S. pristodontus, S. aff. S. crassidens, S. yangaensis, and S. microserratus. For the discrimination among the different Squalicorax species, geometric morphometric analysis was carried out, using ImageJ and MorphoJ software packages. Geometric morphometric analysis included landmark configurations, procrustes superimposition, principle component analysis, and thin-plate spline deformation plots. The quantitative analysis, along with the qualitative examination, provided considerable variations among the different Squalicorax species.

KEYWORDS:

• Late Cretaceous
• Duwi Formation
• Squalicorax
• morphometrics
• Egypt

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge King Saud University for funding this work through Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2020/149), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The authors also acknowledge Dr Shorouk Essam, Biotechnology department, Science College, Helwan University, for her good discussions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Compliance with ethical standards

All procedures by this study were in accordance with international ethical standards. The research involved no human participants.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by King Saud University, Researchers Supporting Project number [RSP-2020/149], King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.