Otodus (Carcharocles) cf. sokolowi Jaekel, 1895

Vliet, Hendrik Jan Van, Schulp, Anne S., Abu El-Kheir, Gebely A. M. M., Paijmans, Theo M., Bosselaers, Mark & Underwood, Charles J., 2017, A new Oligocene site with terrestrial mammals and a selachian fauna from Minqar Tibaghbagh, the Western Desert of Egypt, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 62 (3), pp. 509-525 : 520

Otodus (Carcharocles) cf. sokolowi Jaekel, 1895

Fig. 12I–L .

Material.—Ten (CGM69186: five, CGM67191: four, CGM 69195: one), often badly damaged, from the BOS, early Oligocene, Minqar Tibaghbag, Qattara Depression, Egypt. Dimensions: height 20–54 mm, width 18–40 mm.

Description.—Teeth are large and prominent. The cusp is higher than wide and slightly curved distally.Small,rounded lateral cusplets are present at the base of the main cusp. The cutting edge of cusp and cusplets is covered with small and very regular serrations. The root is robust and wider than the crown, with distinct root lobes.

Remarks.—A relatively large sample of Otodus cf. sokolowi Jaekel, 1895 has been found, which is most certainly a collecting bias, as these conspicuous teeth are easy to spot in the field. Otodus cf. sokolowi Jaekel, 1895 lived until the early Oligocene ( Bourdon 2011). It could be a transitional form to Otodus angustidens Agassiz, 1843 , but the teeth are too incomplete to be certain about it.

Otodus sokolowi has been described from the Daba’a Formation at Minqar Tibaghbagh (as Carcharocles auriculatus ) by Van Vliet and El-Kheir (2010) and by Zalmout et al. (2012).

It is known from Europe, the Eocene of Germany ( Diedrich 2011); Asia, the Paleogene of southern Russia ( Jaekel 1895), the Eocene of Uzbekistan ( Case et al. 1996), the Eocene of Syria and Jordan; Africa, the Eocene of Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Congo, and Angola; North America, the Eocene of North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama ( Zalmout et al. 2012).

Figures

Fig. 12. A–C. Carcharhiniformes and Myliobatiformes from the BOTM, early Oligocene, Minqar Tibaghbagh, Qattara Depression, Egypt; photographed and left in the field. A. Carcharhinus sp., incomplete upper tooth in lingual view. B, C. “Aetobatus” sp. B. Lower tooth in occlusal (B1) and basal (B2) views. C. Lower tooth in occlusal view. D–M. Carcharhiniformes and Lamniformes from the BOS, early Oligocene, Minqar Tibaghbagh, Qattara Depression, Egypt. D. Hemipristis cf. serra Agassiz, 1835 (1843) (CGM67195), upper lateral teeth in lingual (D1, D2, D4) and labial (D3) views. E. Carcharhinus cf. perseus Adnet,Antoine, Hassan Baqri, Crochet, Marivaux, Welcomme, and Métais, 2007 (CGM67194), upper antero-lateral teeth in lingual view. F. Carcharhinus sp. (CGM67195), upper teeth in lingual (F1, F4, F5, F6) and labial (F2, F3) views. G. Negaprion frequens (Dames, 1883) (CGM67191), lower teeth in lingual (G1, G3, G4) and lateral (G2, G5) views. H. Galeocerdo sp. (CGM67195) in lingual view. I–L. Otodus (Carcharocles) cf. sokolowi. I. CGM67195, upper tooth in lingual view. J. CGM69186 upper tooth in lingual (J1) and labial (J2) views. K. CGM69186, lower tooth in labial view. L. CGM69186, lower tooth in lingual (L1) and labial (L2) views. M. Carcharias? sp. (CGM67195), lower teeth in lateral (M1) and lingual (M2) views.