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''Scapanorhynchus'' (from el, σκάφιου , 'shovel' and el, ῥύγχος 'snout') is an extinct genus of shark that lived from the early Cretaceous until possibly the Miocene if ''S. subulatus'' is a mitsukurinid and not a
/ref> Their extreme similarities to the living goblin shark, ''Mitsukurina owstoni'', lead some expertsMikko's Phylogeny Archive
/ref> to consider reclassifying it as ''Scapanorhynchus owstoni''. However, most shark specialists regard the goblin shark to be distinct enough from its prehistoric relatives to merit placement in its own genus.
''Scapanorhynchus'' had an elongated, albeit flattened snout and sharp
sand shark
Sand sharks, also known as sand tiger sharks, gray nurse sharks or ragged tooth sharks, are mackerel sharks of the family Odontaspididae. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters. The three species are in two genera.
Descripti ...
.Capetta, H., Chondrichthyes II, Mesozoic and Cenozoic
Elasmobranchii, vol. 3B of Handbook of Paleoichthyology, Stuttgart, New York: Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1987.Glickman, L. S., and A. O. Averianov. "Evolution of the Cretaceous Lamnoid sharks of the genus Eostriatolamia." PALEONTOLOGICAL JOURNAL C/C OF PALEONTOLOGICHESKII ZHURNAL 32 (1998): 376-384/ref> Their extreme similarities to the living goblin shark, ''Mitsukurina owstoni'', lead some expertsMikko's Phylogeny Archive
/ref> to consider reclassifying it as ''Scapanorhynchus owstoni''. However, most shark specialists regard the goblin shark to be distinct enough from its prehistoric relatives to merit placement in its own genus.
''Scapanorhynchus'' had an elongated, albeit flattened snout and sharp awl
Awl may refer to:
Tools
* Bradawl, a woodworking hand tool for making small holes
* Scratch awl, a woodworking layout and point-making tool used to scribe a line
* Stitching awl, a tool for piercing holes in a variety of materials such as lea ...
-shaped teeth ideal for seizing fish, or tearing chunks of flesh from its prey. It was a small shark normally measuring about 65 cm, though the largest species, ''S. texanus'', is thought to have reached up to 3 m (10 ft) in length, about the size of a modern goblin shark. The largest teeth reported from this genus are anterior teeth from ''S. texanus,'' which can reach lengths up to 7 cm. Roemer, F. 1849. Texas: Mit besonderer Rucksicht auf deutsche Auswanderung und die physischen Verhaltinisse desLands. Mit einem naturwissenschaftlichen Anhange und einer topographisch-geognostischen Karte von Texas. XV 464p. Bonn References
Further reading
* Case, G and Schwimmer, D., 1998. ''Late Cretaceous fish from the Blufftown Formation (Campanian) in Western Georgia.'' Journal of Paleontology., 62(2). pp 290–301. * Kent, B., 1994. ''Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Region.'' Egan Rees & Boyer, Maryland. 146 pp Mitsukurinidae Prehistoric shark genera Cretaceous sharks Paleogene sharks Miocene sharks Cretaceous fish of Asia Fossils of Uzbekistan Bissekty Formation Late Cretaceous fish of North America Mooreville Chalk {{paleo-cartilaginous-fish-stub