The fossil distribution of two pelagic lamniform sharks Alopias vulpinus and Lamna nasus, from South America

ABSTRACT

The fossil record of the southeastern Pacific Ocean has been scarcely studied compared to other regions. We present the detailed description of two pelagic shark species, Alopias vulpinus (common thresher) and Lamna nasus (porbeagle) (Elasmobranchii: Lamniformes), from the Neogene of South America. The fossil teeth described here were recovered from the Bahia Inglesa Formation in Caldera, northern Chile. Our study provides the first comprehensive descriptions of fossil remains of A. vulpinus from Chile and L. nasus from the Americas. The occurrence of the common thresher shark represents the first published record and description of a representative from the family Alopiidae in northern Chile, whereas the fossil remains of the porbeagle shark are recorded for the first time in Chile. This study contributes to the understanding of the past distribution of shark species in the Eastern Pacific of South America during the Neogene period. It further confirms the particular abundance of lamniform sharks in the Neogene of Chile.

KEYWORDS:

• Bahía Inglesa
• biogeography
• Caldera
• Neogene
• teeth

Acknowledgments

We thank R. Otero for the initial sorting of the Valenzuela’s collection. This study was founded by the project “Registro, embalaje y traslado a Caldera de colección paleontológica custodiada en MNHN” (n° 4650-12-le22) of the Council of National Monuments (Resolución exenta N°347, Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural). We deeply appreciate the help provided during the development of the project by C. Duarte, M. Yurak (Área de Patrimonio Natural of the Council of National Monuments), D. Rubilar-Rogers, K. Buldrini and I. Araya (Área de Paleontología, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural). We also thank R. Figueroa for providing the collection numbers of the specimens deposited at MPC and R. Graneris, D. Marchant, A. Cornejo and V. Castillo for collaborating in the project and C. Espinosa-Bustos for providing the illustration. The article was greatly improved by the comments and suggestions made by K. Shimada, S. Everaert, and one anonymous reviewer. The research of JAV was funded by project ANID/FONDECYT #3230610.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico [ANID/FONDECYT #3230610]; “Registro, embalaje y traslado a Caldera de colección paleontológica custodiada en MNHN” of the Council of National Monuments (Resolución exenta N°347, Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural [4650-12-le22].