Bransonella nebraskensis (Johnson, 1984)

Ginter, Michał, Duffin, Christopher J., Dean, Mark T. & Korn, Dieter, 2015, Late Viséan pelagic chondrichthyans from northern Europe, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60 (4), pp. 899-922 : 908

Bransonella nebraskensis (Johnson, 1984)

Figs. 8A , 9A , 14C .

Material.—Three teeth from upper Viséan of Cawdor Quarry, Matlock, Derbyshire, England, UK (sample Cawdor 5), one from upper Viséan, Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, UK, and four from upper Viséan of Todowa Grząba, north of Ostrówka Quarry, Gałęzice Region, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland (sample TG-D); NHMUK PV P73283, NHMUK PV P73288, ZPAL P.IV/215.

Description.—The teeth of Bransonella from all three localities look almost exactly the same. The crown is composed of three short, straight cusps, covered on the labial faces with coarse cristae, partly straight and partly wavy, joining upwards, forming a lanceolate pattern. The lateral cusps are twice as large as the median cusp. The base is thick and compact, with a button covering almost all the orolingual side. The basolabial tubercle is heel-like, straight and thin.

The specimens of Bransonella from Todowa Grząba have been illustrated several times before (e.g., Ivanov and Ginter 1996), because of their good preservation.

Stratigraphic and geographic range.— Bransonella nebraskensis is a cosmopolitan species; it is known from the upper Viséan of Poland and Russia, Pennsylvanian and Cisuralian of USA (Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas; see Hampe and Ivanov 2007 for references), and the upper Viséan of Belgium ( Ivanov and Derycke 2005) and England (this paper). It also probably occurs in the Upper Pennsylvanian of the Amazon Basin ( Duffin et al. 1996) and in the Mississippian of Gansu, China (Wang et al. 2004).

Figures

Fig. 8. Chondrichthyan teeth from the upper Viséan of Cawdor Quarry, Matlock, Derbyshire, England, UK; sample Cawdor 5 (A–E), 8 (F). A. Bransonella nebraskensis (Johnson, 1984), NHMUK PV P73283, in lingual (A 1), labial (A 2), and oral (A 3) views. B. Squatinactis caudispinatus Lund and Zangerl, 1974, NHMUK PV P73286, in labial (B 1) and oblique lateral (B 2) views. C, D. Cooleyella fordi (Duffin and Ward, 1983). C. NHMUK PV P73284, in oral C 1) and lingual (C 2) views. D. NHMUK PV P73285, in aboral/labial view. E. Ginteria fungiforma Duffin and Ivanov, 2008, NHMUK PV P66676, in oral E ), lateral (E ), and lingual (E ) views. F. Tip of a helodontid holocephalian tooth, NHMUK PV P73287, in lateral view.

Fig. 9. Chondrichthyan teeth from the upper Viséan of Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, UK (A–D) and Todowa Grząba, north of Ostrówka Quarry, Gałęzice Region, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland (E). A. Bransonella nebraskensis (Johnson, 1984), NHMUK PV P73288, in labial (A 1) and lingual (A2) views. B, C. Thrinacodus dziki sp. nov. B. NHMUK PV P66779, in lateral (B 1) and labial (B2) views. C. NHMUK PV P73289, in oral view. D, E. Teeth similar to “Ctenacanthus” costellatus Traquair, 1875. D. NHMUK PV P73290, in oral (D 1), lateral/labial (D2), and lateral/lingual (D3) views. E. ZPAL P.IV/256, in oral (E 1) and labial (E2) views.

Fig. 14. Chondrichthyan teeth from the upper Viséan of Todowa Grząba, north of Ostrówka Quarry, Gałęzice Region, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland. A. Euselachii indet. 2, MWGUW/Ps/11/21, in lateral (A1), labial (A2), lingual (A3), and oral (A4) views. B. Euselachii indet. 1, MWGUW/Ps/11/22, in labial (B1) and lingual (B2) views. C. Bransonella nebraskensis (Johnson, 1984), ZPAL P.IV/215, in lateral (C1) and labial/aboral (C2) views. D. Orodont-like crushing tooth, ZPAL P.IV/233, in oral/lingual view. E. Denaea sp., large tooth, MWGUW/Ps/11/23, in labial view.