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Paleoecological relationships of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli (Agassiz)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Kenshu Shimada
Kenshu Shimada*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago 60607
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Abstract

Several specimens of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli (Agassiz), from the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas suggest that the shark fed on teleosts, mosasaurs, and possibly plesiosaurs. These animals are active vertebrates, so C. mantelli probably occupied the apex of the food chain in the Late Cretaceous seas. This top predator, however, was probably scavenged frequently by anacoracid sharks. Carcharodon carcharias (great white shark) and carcharhinid sharks are considered as the modern guild counterparts for Cretoxyrhina mantelli and anacoracids, respectively.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 71 , Issue 5 , September 1997 , pp. 926 - 933
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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