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Megalolamna is an elusive extinct shark genus (Lamniformes: Otodontidae) previously known from the upper Oligocene–Miocene of the USA, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Japan. Here, we document the first occurrence of Megalolamna from Miocene marine deposits in Europe, specifically from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. Although the taxon is regarded as a monospecific genus, this study reveals that the species name serotinus has the priority over any previously used names for the taxon and thus redescribes it as Megalolamna serotinus (Probst), comb. nov. This study is also significant because it demonstrates the existence of Megalolamna in the Mediterranean and Paratethys seas during the Miocene. Megalolamna inhabited the tropical–mid-latitudinal zones with spotty but wide geographic distribution.

Diet is a crucial trait of an animal’s lifestyle and ecology. The trophic level of an organism indicates its functional position within an ecosystem and holds significance for its ecology and evolution. Here, we demonstrate the use of zinc isotopes (δ 66 Zn) to geochemically assess the trophic level in diverse extant and extinct sharks, including the Neogene megatooth shark ( Otodus megalodon ) and the great white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ). We reveal that dietary δ 66 Zn signatures are preserved in fossil shark tooth enameloid over deep geologic time and are robust recorders of each species’ trophic level. We observe significant δ 66 Zn differences among the Otodus and Carcharodon populations implying dietary shifts throughout the Neogene in both genera. Notably, Early Pliocene sympatric C. carcharias and O. megalodon appear to have occupied a similar mean trophic level, a finding that may hold clues to the extinction of the gigantic Neogene megatooth shark. Here the authors demonstrate the use of zinc isotopes (δ 66 Zn) to geochemically assess trophic levels in extant and extinct sharks. They show that the Neogene megatooth shark ( Otodus megalodon ) and the great white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) occupied a similar trophic level.

A three‐ton shipment of dry shark fins was examined by German customs in 2017 leading to the confiscation of 405 kg of potential CITES species. We analyzed a subsample of this material (115 specimens) using DNA sequence‐based identification and compared results to morphological screening of CITES species. We found a mixture of CITES regulated (4 of 11 species) and unregulated shark species. Our results demonstrate the difficulties of identifying CITES species morphologically in large fin shipments of mixed species composition. Correct identification of CITES species based on morphology alone may be hindered by missing characters or those altered by drying. We therefore suggest random molecular screening as a uniform approach for German customs authorities to check species composition and identify CITES regulated species in transit shipments. The shark fin trade often relies on transportation routes and transit countries. Precise identification of CITES species based on morphological characters when handling very large shipments could be challenging. We suggest random molecular screening by customs authorities as a uniform approach for checking species composition of in‐transit shipments.

Megalolamna is an elusive extinct shark genus (Lamniformes: Otodontidae) previously known from the upper Oligocene–Miocene of the USA, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Japan. Here, we document the first occurrence of Megalolamna from Miocene marine deposits in Europe, specifically from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. Although the taxon is regarded as a monospecific genus, this study reveals that the species name serotinus has the priority over any previously used names for the taxon and thus redescribes it as Megalolamna serotinus (Probst), comb. nov. This study is also significant because it demonstrates the existence of Megalolamna in the Mediterranean and Paratethys seas during the Miocene. Megalolamna inhabited the tropical–mid-latitudinal zones with spotty but wide geographic distribution.

Megalolamna is an elusive extinct shark genus (Lamniformes: Otodontidae) previously known from the upper Oligocene-Miocene of the USA, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Japan. Here, we document the first occurrence of Megalolamna from Miocene marine deposits in Europe, specifically from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy. Although the taxon is regarded as a monospecific genus, this study reveals that the species name serotinus has the priority over any previously used names for the taxon and thus redescribes it as Megalolamna serotinus (Probst), comb. nov. This study is also significant because it demonstrates the existence of Megalolamna in the Mediterranean and Paratethys seas during the Miocene. Megalolamna inhabited the tropical-mid-latitudinal zones with spotty but wide geographic distribution. Keywords: Austria, Elasmobranchii , France, Germany, Italy, Neogene, taxonomy

An important character on several taxonomic levels for shark identification is the tooth morphology. Sharks show a variety of highly specialized dentitions reflecting adaptations to their feeding habits. Intraspecific variation of tooth morphology such as sexual or ontogenetic dimorphism is poorly known in many species, even though tooth morphology plays a decisive role in the characterization of the fossil record of sharks, which comprises mostly fossil teeth. Here we analyzed the dentition of 40 jaws of the Velvet Belly Lantern Shark Etmopterus spinax and identified ontogenetic and sexual dimorphic characters such as total number of teeth, number of upper teeth, cusplet numbers in upper jaw teeth and width of lower jaw teeth. Dimorphic characters may reduce intraspecific competition for food, as E. spinax segregates by sex and size and may allow for identifying the male sex. The lower jaw tooth height, a sexually non-dimorphic character, was used to re-calculate the total length of specimens, which represents the first such approach for a squaliform shark. Results derived from the extant E. spinax are subsequently applied to fossil Etmopterus sp. teeth (Miocene) to gain individual information such as sex or size, but also characterize the extinct population from the excavation site by a size distribution profile in comparison to data from extant populations. This approach indicates the presence of multiple ontogenetic stages in the extinct population.

Extensive bulk-sampling of the continuous Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary section at Gams (Styria, Austria) allows for the first time the description of the elasmobranch communities inhabiting the bathyal environment of this well-known section. The sampled succession comprises six horizons from the uppermost Maastrichtian (upper part of Zone CC26) and five horizons from the lowermost Danian (Zone NP1), which yielded a total of 1852 elasmobranch teeth. Although the majority of the teeth are not well preserved, this study enabled the description of at least 16 taxa of the orders Hexanchiformes, Squaliformes, Orectolobiformes, Lamniformes and Carcharhiniformes, providing a rare snapshot of elasmobranch diversity of this specific environmental setting. Beside minor diversity fluctuations between the assemblages, the extensive bulk-sampling of this section did not reveal a marked diversity decline related to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. However, a noteworthy correlation between the deepening upward trend of the section with the appearance of frilled and goblin sharks points to changes in palaeobathymetry, which is also reflected in the increase of the total proportion of squaliform teeth in the uppermost sampled horizon. Furthermore, teeth of the extinct triakid were recovered exclusively from the Danian deeper deposits, expanding the palaeoecological range of the genus down to fairly deep marine environments. In addition, this study provides the first record of the lamniform ex gr. from the Danian of the Tethyan Realm expanding the palaeogeographic distribution of this group.

This study reports on a rare assemblage of deep-marine elasmobranchs from the middle Badenian (Langhian) of Austria, which has been recovered by extensive bulk sampling of sediment deposited in the Krems embayment. The applied multidisciplinary approach enabled an age assignment, placing the assemblage around the mid Badenian flooding event (14.59 ± 0.2 Ma). Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, based on a well-preserved foraminifera assemblage and fish otoliths, indicates predominantly oxic to suboxic with partially dysoxic conditions of a rather deep-marine (>100 m) setting, which align with the recovered elasmobranch taxa. Despite analyzing 180 kilograms of sediment, only five elasmobranch teeth were recovered. The low number of teeth and the extraordinarily well-preserved foraminifera argue for an autochthonous deposition and point to high sedimentation rates associated with the flooding event. The teeth represent five different elasmobranch orders (Squaliformes, Squatiniformes, Carcharhiniformes, Torpediniformes, and Myliobatiformes) with a wide range of feeding behaviors, providing new insights into the ecological structure of this deep-marine environment. Despite common genera known from other marine settings of the Paratethyan realm (e.g., Squatina, Scyliorhinus, and Centrophorus), this study documents the first distinct records of Torpedo and Mobula from Austria, expanding the known palaeogeographic distribution of these taxa.

Deep-neritic sediments of the Eferding Formation (Egerian, Upper Oligocene) of Upper Austria from the Kamig kaolinite quarry revealed minute teeth of the putatively planktivorous shark genus . This is the oldest unambiguous record of this rarely documented genus, which was known so far only from Miocene deposits of Europe, North America and Japan. Based on previous studies, which showed a positive correlation between sediments of nutrient rich waters and plankton blooms with a majority of ichthyoliths of and , we argue for a filter-feeding and migratory lifestyle of the latter. Thus, it is supposed that migrated seasonally for foraging, in a similar way to the extant basking shark . This mode of life and the wide paleogeographic distribution of the open marine genus requires a deep and fully marine connection between the Paratethys and the Proto-Mediterranean Sea during late Oligocene times, which might have been established via the Slovenian Corridor.

The newly collected shark and ray tooth fossils from the marine sediments of the Upper Marine Molasse close to Allerding (4.8 km SE of Schärding, Austria) allow for a review of the hitherto known diversity comprising a taxonomic update and the documentation of additional taxa. Besides ten taxa already known from the area, the following taxa were collected for the first time from the site: Galeocerdo aduncus Agassiz, 1835, Rhizoprionodon sp., Hemipristis serra Agassiz, 1835, Apristurus sp., Pseudoapristurus nonstriatus Pollerspöck & Straube, 2017, Scyliorhinus sp., Keasius sp., Mitsukurina lineata (Probst, 1879), Odontaspis molassica Probst, 1879, Otodus (Megaselachus) chubutensis (Ameghino, 1901), Chlamydoselachus bracheri Pfeil, 1983, Hexanchidae indet., Paraheptranchias repens (Probst, 1879), Notorynchus primigenius (Agassiz, 1843), Deania sp., Isistius triangulus (Probst, 1879), Euprotomicrus sp., Etmopterus sp., Pristiophorus sp., Nanocetorhinus tuberculatus Underwood & Schlögl, 2013, Raja gentili Joleaud, 1912, Rajidae sp. indet., Rhinobatos sp., Aetobatus arcuatus (Agassiz, 1843), and Dasyatis rugosa (Probst, 1877). Fossil teeth of Euprotomicrus represent the first fossil evidence of this taxon ever. Our results indicate a typical Miocene coastal shallow and continental shelf associated diversity. In addition, we reviewed the palaeogeographic distribution ranges of the squaliform genera listed herein to test, if we can identify the origin of specific squaliform genera. Die neu aufgesammelten Hai- und Rochenzähne aus den marinen Sedimenten der Oberen Meeresmolasse von Allerding (4,8 km südöstlich von Schärding, Österreich) erlauben es, die bisher in der Literatur bekannte Artenliste zu aktualisieren und zu erweitern. Neben den bisher dokumentierten und beschriebenen zehn Haiarten konnten erstmals für diese Fundstelle folgende Taxa neu nachgewiesen werden: Galeocerdo aduncus Agassiz, 1835, Rhizoprionodon sp., Hemipristis serra Agassiz, 1835, Apristurus sp., Pseudoapristurus nonstriatus Pollerspöck & Straube, 2017, Scyliorhinus sp., Keasius sp., Mitsukurina lineata (Probst, 1879), Odontaspis molassica Probst, 1879, Otodus (Megaselachus) chubutensis (Ameghino, 1901), Chlamydoselachus bracheri Pfeil, 1983, Hexanchidae indet., Paraheptranchias repens (Probst, 1879), Notorynchus primigenius (Agassiz, 1843), Deania sp., Isistius triangulus (Probst, 1879), Euprotomicrus sp., Etmopterus sp., Pristiophorus sp., Nanocetorhinus tuberculatus Underwood & Schlögl, 2013, Raja gentili Joleaud, 1912, Rajidae sp. indet., Rhinobatos sp., Aetobatus arcuatus (Agassiz, 1843), und Dasyatis rugosa (Probst, 1877). Euprotomicrus wurde erstmals fossil nachgewiesen. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf eine typische miozäne küstennahe Flachwasser- bzw. Schelffauna mit Nähe zu Tiefseebereichen hin. Darüber hinaus wurde die paläogeographische Verbreitung der nachgewiesenen squaliformen Gattungen aktualisiert und überprüft, ob es anhand der aktuellen Datenlage möglich ist, den bisher angenommenen Ursprung der squaliformen Haie zu bestätigen.