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Palaeocarcharodon

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Palaeocarcharodon
Temporal range: Paleocene, 61.7–55.8 Ma
Fossil teeth of Palaeocarcharodon orientalis (the largest three) from Khouribga (Morocco), alongside teeth of Otodus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Otodontidae
Genus: Palaeocarcharodon
Casieer, 1960
Species:
P. orientalis
Binomial name
Palaeocarcharodon orientalis
(Sinzow, 1899)

Palaeocarcharodon, also known as the pygmy white shark, is a genus of shark within the family Otodontidae[1] that lived about 61.7 to 55.8 Ma during the Paleocene. It currently contains a sole species P. orientalis.[2]

Description

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Teeth of Palaeocarcharodon are triangular, labio-lingually compressed, with quite irregular serrations and serrate lateral cusplets. They can reach a size of about 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in).[3]

Size compared to human

References

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  1. ^ Mikael Siverson; Johan Lindgren; Michael G. Newbrey; Peter Cederström; Todd D. Cook (2013). "Cenomanian–Campanian (Late Cretaceous) mid-palaeolatitude sharks of Cretalamna appendiculata type". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 60 (2): 339–384. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1027.6182. doi:10.4202/app.2012.0137. S2CID 58906204.
  2. ^ Kordikova, E. G.; Polly, P. D.; Alifanov, V. A.; Roček, Z.; Gunnell, G. F.; Averianov, A. O. (2001). "Small vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary of the northeastern Aral Sea Region, Kazakhstan" (PDF). Journal of Paleontology. 75 (2): 390–400. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2001)075<0390:svftlc>2.0.co;2. S2CID 92986827.
  3. ^ G. R. Case. - Palaeocarcharodon Orientalis (SINZOW) (Neoselachii: Cretoxyrhinidae), from the Paleocene of Maryland - Lab. de Paléontologie des Vertébrés, 1989