Protospinax

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Protospinax
Temporal range: Early JurassicEarly Cretaceous
Protospinax annectens, Palaontologisches Museum Munchen.JPG
Protospinax annectans
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Superorder: Squalomorphii
Genus: Protospinax
Woodward, 1918
Type species
Protospinax annectans
Woodward, 1918
Species
  • P. annectansWoodward, 1918
  • P. bilobatusUnderwood & Ward, 2004
  • P. carvalhoiUnderwood & Ward, 2004
  • P. lochensteinensisThies, 1983
  • P. magnusUnderwood & Ward, 2004
  • P. planusUnderwood, 2002
Life reconstruction of Protospinax annectans Protospinax Staggl.png
Life reconstruction of Protospinax annectans

Protospinax is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish from the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Europe and Russia. The type species, P. annectans, was found in the Solnhofen limestones of southern Bavaria. Formerly known from only two specimens, further museum specimens of P. annectans were discovered at the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University in the 1990s, having been misidentified as Squatina and Heterodontus . Five more species, all known only from isolated teeth, are also assigned to Protospinax.

Protospinax is a difficult taxon to accommodate in taxonomies. A 2023 study found it to be a squalomorph shark; one analysis placed it closest to angelsharks and sawsharks, but the authors concluded that its exact position within Squalomorphii is ultimately tentative due to a lack of unambiguous supporting traits. [1]

Protospinax was a relatively small shark, with the largest uncatalogued specimen of P. annectans measuring about 1.63 metres (5.3 ft) long. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Jambura, Patrick L.; Villalobos-Segura, Eduardo; Türtscher, Julia; Begat, Arnaud; Staggl, Manuel Andreas; Stumpf, Sebastian; Kindlimann, René; Klug, Stefanie; Lacombat, Frederic; Pohl, Burkhard; Maisey, John G.; Naylor, Gavin J. P.; Kriwet, Jürgen (21 February 2023). "Systematics and Phylogenetic Interrelationships of the Enigmatic Late Jurassic Shark Protospinax annectans Woodward, 1918 with Comments on the SharkRay Sister Group Relationship". Diversity. 15 (3): 311. doi: 10.3390/d15030311 . ISSN   1424-2818. PMID   36950326.