Physogaleus

Physogaleus
Temporal range: Eocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Superorder: Selachimorpha
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Genus: Physogaleus
Species
  • ?Physogaleus secundus
  • Physogaleus contortus

Physogaleus is a small prehistoric shark that lived from the Eocene.[1]

Description

Physogaleus are only known from their fossil teeth and isolated vertebra.

Physogaleus has teeth similar to the modern tiger shark, but smaller. It was actually thought to be a type of tiger shark (Galeocerdo). However, due to the many smaller differences in the shark teeth, it has been moved to its own genera.

Physogaleus teeth are smaller than the tiger sharks, they also do not have the heavy serrations, and are slender and twisted toward the crown. This indicates they probably had a diet of bony fish, similar to the living sand-tiger shark.[1]

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.