Palaeorhincodon
 | This article needs more citations. (July 2013) |
| Palaeorhincodon Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Orectolobiformes |
| Family: | Rhincodontidae |
| Genus: | †Palaeorhincodon Herman, 1974 |
| Type species | |
| †Palaeorhincodon wardi Herman, 1974 | |
| Other species | |
| |
Palaeorhincodon (meaning "old Rhincodon") is an extinct genus of prehistoric whale shark from the Early Paleocene and Late Eocene periods. It had a similar distribution range to that of modern whale sharks, with teeth from Palaeorhincodon being found in warm water areas such as North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.[1] Some fossil teeth of Palaeorhincodon was found in possible Late Jurassic deposits. Its teeth are very small, being only 3 millimeters in height. There are up to 300 files of teeth in each jaw of Palaeorhincodon.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]History
[edit]The discovery of Palaeorhincodon began around the 19th century, in 1974, with the paleontologist Herman, who described the fossil of a new genus of prehistoric whale shark, Palaeorhincodon, naming its type species, P. wardi, and based on the holotype IRSNB P05823, among other specimens, with paratypes.[3] Previously, a species described from the genus Squatirhina, known as S. dartevellei, was also reclassified into the same genus as P. wardi.[4] In 1997, a new previously undescribed species of this same genus, P. daouii, was named. Since then, Palaeorhincodon has been placed as a genus having only 3 known species.
Undescribed species
[edit]Some fossils were attributed to Palaeorhincodon, many of them found in possible Upper Jurassic deposits and mainly from the Lower Eocene.
Ecology
[edit]Palaeorhicodon presumedly behaved similarly to extant whale sharks, feeding on plankton and larger pelagic animals like small crustaceans, fish and squid.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Rhincodontidae". Fossilworks.
- ↑ "elasmo.com". www.elasmo.com. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ↑ Herman (1974). "Compléments paléoichthyologiques à la faune éocène de la Belgique. 1. Palaeorhincodon, genre nouveau de l'Eocène belge". Bulletin de la Société Belge de Géologie: 7–13.
- ↑ Noubhani, A., Cappetta, H. (1997). "Les Orectolobiformes, Carcharhiniformes et Myliobatiformes (Elasmobranchii, Neoselachii) des Bassins à phosphate du Maroc (Maastrichtien-Lutétien basal)". Palaeo Ichthyologica: 1–327.
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