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- volume 14 (2011)
- number 3-4
- Carcharias vorax (Le Hon, 1871) (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes), from the Miocene of Belgium: redescription and designation of a neotype and paraneotype.
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Carcharias vorax (Le Hon, 1871) (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes), from the Miocene of Belgium: redescription and designation of a neotype and paraneotype.
Abstract
Carcharias vorax (Le Hon, 1871) is poorly defined with one single tooth only. The holotype could not be found in the Type Collection of the IRScNB (Brussels) and recognition of the holotype is impossible based on the poor drawing in Le Hon (1871). A neotype and paraneotype are designated for the lost holotype. A temporary outcrop at a construction site southeast of the city of Antwerp is chosen as type locality. The basal part of the Middle Miocene Antwerpen Sands Member is selected as type horizon. An artificial tooth set is constructed and illustrated, confirming the attribution of this species to the genus Carcharias. Carcharias vorax (Le Hon, 1871) appears to be closely related to Carcharias cuspidatus (Agassiz, 1843) and seems to have a restricted geographical and temporal distribution, focused on the North Sea Basin only during the Burdigalian-Tortonian interval. The disappearance of Carcharias vorax during the Late Miocene is discussed. A maximum total body length of approximately 280 cm is estimated for this Miocene shark species.
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About: Pieter J. DE SCHUTTER
Averbeekstraat 23/1.02, 1745 Opwijk, Belgium; E-mail: somniosus@skynet.be