Manta hynei

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Manta hynei
Temporal range: Zanclean
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Mobulidae
Genus: Manta
Species:
M. hynei
Binomial name
Manta hynei
Bourdon, 1999 [1]

Manta hynei is an extinct species of manta ray that was extant in the Pliocene. Its fossils have been found in North America, specifically North Carolina and Virginia. [2] [3] It was first described by Jim Bourdon in 1999, as a specimen dated to the Zanclean (early Pliocene). The species is known from its distinctive fossilized teeth. [4] [5] Some authors have suggested, on the basis of tooth morphology, that this species should be classified in the genus Mobula instead. [3]

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The Pliocene is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch. Prior to the 2009 revision of the geologic time scale, which placed the four most recent major glaciations entirely within the Pleistocene, the Pliocene also included the Gelasian Stage, which lasted from 2.588 to 1.806 million years ago, and is now included in the Pleistocene.

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<i>Galeocerdo</i> Genus of sharks

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant oceanic manta ray</span> Species of cartilaginous fish

The giant oceanic manta ray, giant manta ray, or oceanic manta ray is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, and the largest type of ray in the world. It is circumglobal and is typically found in tropical and subtropical waters, but can also be found in temperate waters. Until 2017, the species was classified in the genus Manta, along with the smaller reef manta ray. DNA testing revealed that both species are more closely related to rays of the genus Mobula than previously thought. As a result, the giant manta was renamed as Mobula birostris to reflect the new classification.

<i>Cretalamna</i> Extinct genus of sharks

Cretalamna is a genus of extinct otodontid shark that lived from the latest Early Cretaceous to Eocene epoch. It is considered by many to be the ancestor of the largest sharks to have ever lived, such as Otodus angustidens, Otodus chubutensis, and Otodus megalodon.

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<i>Galeocerdo alabamensis</i> Extinct species of shark

Galeocerdo alabamensis is an extinct relative of the modern tiger shark. Nomenclature of this shark has been debated, and recent literature identified it more closely with the Physogaleus genus of prehistoric shark, rather than Galeocerdo. The classification of Physogaleus is known as tiger-like sharks while Galeocerdo refers to tiger sharks. In 2003, P. alabamensis was classified as Galeocerdo. However, in 2019 they were proclaimed to be more morphologically similar to the genus Physogaleus. This definition was based primarily on tooth shape, as the majority of information on P. alabamensis is a result of studying tooth fossils. Distinctions between Physogaleus and Galeocerdo are difficult with extinct sharks from the Oilgocene/Miocene as there is little paleobiological information allowing for hard conclusions.

<i>Trigonotodus</i> Genus of sharls

Trigonotodus is an extinct genus of sharks, most likely belonging to the family Alopiidae. This genus includes three extinct species, which span from the early Eocene to the late Oligocene. It was originally placed in the family Otodontidae, but subsequently found to have affinities with Thresher sharks. This genus is sometimes considered part of the genus Alopias. It is currently only known from isolated teeth.

<i>Aquilolamna</i> Genus of extinct elasmobranch from the Late Cretaceous period

Aquilolamna is an extinct genus of shark-like elasmobranch from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian)-aged Agua Nueva Formation of Mexico. It is currently known to contain only one species, A. milarcae, also known as the eagle shark, and it is classified in its own family Aquilolamnidae, which has been tentatively assigned to the mackerel sharks.

References

  1. Bourdon, Jim (1999). "A fossil Manta from the Early Pliocene (Zanclean) of North America". Tertiary Research. 19 (3–4): 79–84.
  2. Pollerspöck, J. and Straube, N. (2018). Manta hynei | Literature | Shark-References. [online] Shark-references.com. Available at: http://shark-references.com/literature/listBySpecies/Manta-hynei [Accessed 17 Mar. 2018].
  3. 1 2 ADNET, S., CAPPETTA, H., GUINOT, G. and NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA, G. (2012). Evolutionary history of the devilrays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) from fossil and morphological inference. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 166(1), pp.132-159.
  4. Healy, C. (2018). Manta hynei Bourdon, 1999. [online] Smithsonian Institution. Available at: https://www.si.edu/object/nmnhpaleobiology_10103037 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].
  5. Bourdon, J. (1997). Mobula, Manta, etc. — Neogene Mobulids. [online] Elasmo.com. Available at: http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=genera/cenozoic/batoids/mobulid-lc.html&menu=bin/menu_genera-alt.html [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].