Reginaselache
Name:Reginaselache
(Regina’s shark).
Phonetic: Re-gee-na-sel-ah-kay.
Named By: Susan Turner and Carole J. Burrow -
2011.
Classification: Chordata, Chondrichthyes,
Elasmobranchii, Euselachii, Xenacanthida, Diplodoselachidae.
Species: R. morris (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated at one meter long.
Known locations: Australia - Ducabrook Formation.
Time period: Vis�an of the Mississippian stage of
the Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Teeth.
Reginaselache
is an interesting find as the xenacanthid sharks are often associated
with just Europe and North America, although remains are also known
from India. With Reginaselache being discovered
in Australia it would
seem that the xenacanthids were possibly widespread across all the
major continents. Xenacanthid sharks like Reginaselache
were more
eel-like in body form rather than the fusiform (fish-like) sharks
that we know today. This form would have allowed Reginaselache
to
navigate swamps full of submerged obstacles without getting its fins
caught.
As
a predator Reginaselache probably hunted other
fish, but fossil
remains for another xenacanthid shark named Triodus
suggests that it
may have taken juveniles of temnodspondyl amphibians as well. Still
in their larval stages these juveniles would have possibly been
restricted to life in the water until they grew older and changed so
that they could walk on land where they would have been safe from
sharks like Reginaselache.
Further reading
- A Lower Carboniferous xenacanthiform shark from Australia. - Journal
of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (2): 241–257. - Susan Turner &
Carole J. Burrow - 2011.
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