A megamouth shark (Lamniformes: Megachasmidae) in the Burdigalian of Belgium

Autor: Stijn Everaert, Pieter J. De Schutter
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Neogene stratigraphy of northern Belgium. 23:157-165
ISSN: 2034-1954
1374-8505
Popis: 1. Introduction The extant Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983 is a large (up to ca. 5.5 m), meso- to epipelagic, planktonivorous, filter-feeder shark with a nearly worldwide distribution in temperate and tropical waters (Compagno, 2001; Compagno et al., 2005). It was only discovered in 1976 near Hawaii and considered as one of the most spectacular zoological discoveries in the twentieth century (e.g. Berra, 1997). By its unusual appearance and oversized mouth, a new family, genus and species was erected. Since its discovery, only around a hundred individuals have been observed or caught (Liu et al., 2018). Watanabe & Papastamatiou (2019) compile 117 sightings; mainly in the Pacific, occasionally in the Indian or Atlantic Ocean, but this shark has never been spotted in the North or Mediterranean Sea (Fernando et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2018). The published fossil record is equally very poor. Fossil megachasmids have only been reported sporadically and are mostly based on one or two teeth: in Europe (Keupp & Bellas, 2002; De Schutter, 2009; Reinecke et al., 2011; Spadini & Manganelli, 2015; Shimada & Ward, 2016), Asia (Tomita & Yokoyama 2015), North America (Purdy et al., 2001; De Schutter, 2009) and South America (Gonzalez-Barba & Thies, 2000; De Schutter, 2009; Cappetta, 2012; Landini et al., 2019). An exception is the large number of megachasmid teeth reported from late Oligocene to early Miocene deposits in western USA (California and Oregon), already kn
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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