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Article: A new chondrichthyan fauna from the Late Jurassic of the Swiss Jura (Kimmeridgian) dominated by hybodonts, chimaeroids and guitarfishes

Papers in Palaeontology - Volume 3 Part 4 - Cover
Publication: Papers in Palaeontology
Volume: 3
Part: 4
Publication Date: November 2017
Page(s): 471 511
Author(s): Léa Leuzinger, Gilles Cuny, Evgeny Popov, and Jean‐Paul Billon‐Bruyat
DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1085
Addition Information

How to Cite

LEUZINGER, L., CUNY, G., POPOV, E., BILLON‐BRUYAT, J. 2017. A new chondrichthyan fauna from the Late Jurassic of the Swiss Jura (Kimmeridgian) dominated by hybodonts, chimaeroids and guitarfishes. Papers in Palaeontology, 3, 4, 471-511. DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1085

Author Information

  • Léa Leuzinger - Section d'archéologie et paléontologie Office de la culture, République et Canton du Jura Porrentruy Switzerland (Email: leuzinger.lea@gmail.com)
  • Gilles Cuny - LGLTPE UMR CNRS ENS 5276 University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne Cedex France
  • Evgeny Popov - Department of Historical Geology & Paleontology Saratov State University Saratov Russia
  • Evgeny Popov - Institute of Geology & Petroleum Technology Kazan Federal University Kazan Russia
  • Jean‐Paul Billon‐Bruyat - Section d'archéologie et paléontologie Office de la culture, République et Canton du Jura Porrentruy Switzerland

Publication History

  • Issue published online: 09 November 2017
  • Manuscript Accepted: 04 June 2017
  • Manuscript Received: 27 November 2016

Funded By

Federal Roads Office and the Republic and Canton of Jura

Online Version Hosted By

Wiley Online Library (Open Access)
Get Article: Wiley Online Library [Open Access]

Abstract

The fossil record of chondrichthyans (sharks, rays and chimaeroids) principally consists of isolated teeth, spines and dermal denticles, their cartilaginous skeleton being rarely preserved. Several Late Jurassic chondrichthyan assemblages have been studied in Europe based on large bulk samples, mainly in England, France, Germany and Spain. The first study of this kind in Switzerland is based on controlled excavations in Kimmeridgian deposits related to the construction of the A16 motorway in the Swiss Jura (Porrentruy, NW Switzerland). This study is based on more than 2000 isolated chondrichthyan remains (teeth, dental plates, spines and dermal denticles) and adds to our knowledge of the chondrichthyan distribution at a regional scale in Europe. We describe and identify this new fauna, define a new species of hybodont with crushing‐type dentition (Asteracanthus udulfensis sp. nov.) and report for the first time the carcharhiniform Corysodon cirinensis in Switzerland. By the Late Jurassic, modern neoselachian sharks had overtaken hybodonts in European marine realms, the latter being gradually confined to brackish or freshwater environments. However, while the associated fauna of the Porrentruy platform indicates marine conditions, neoselachian sharks are surprisingly rare. The chondrichthyan assemblage is largely dominated by hybodonts, guitarfishes (rays) and chimaeroids that are all known to be euryhaline. This unexpected chondrichthyan faunal composition questions the presence of fresh to brackish water in the vicinity of the platform, and the occurrence of salinity fluctuations within a general context marine. This could explain the scarcity of neoselachian sharks and the extended success of hybodonts in the Porrentruy area as late as the Late Jurassic.

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