Evolutionary history of the devilrays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) from fossil and morphological inference
Author
Adnet, Sylvain
Author
Cappetta, Henri
Author
Guinot, Guillaume
Author
Sciara, Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di
text
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
2012
2015-07-06
166
1
132
159
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00844.x
journal article
10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00844.x
0024-4082
5408589
†
MOBULA LOUPIANENSIS
CAPPETTA, 1970
Occurrences:
Langhian of southern
France
(
Cappetta, 1970
) and North Carolina (
Purdy
et al
., 2001
). Serravallian of
Portugal
(
Jonet, 1976
).
Remarks:
Particularly well illustrated by
Jonet (1976
: figs 1–13) with male (monocupsidate teeth) and female (not well cuspidate) specimens, the morphology of †
Mo. loupianensis
is clearly close to that observed in the living species
Mo. hypostoma
.
The tooth crown of males has a massive central cusp with sometimes a pair of small denticles located at each extremity in occlusal view. The tooth crown of females is devoid of a cusp but the visor can occasionally be very slightly irregular in occlusal view. Dental differences with the living species are tenuous but the teeth of †
Mo. loupianensis
(particularly the females) present a smoother enameloid than in
Mo. hypostoma
, in which the labial face is slightly marked by some folds.
Cicimurri & Knight (2009
: fig. 9A–F) reported a large variety of morphotypes of mobulids from the upper Chattian of
South Carolina
. The authors considered that they all belong to a unique species attributed to †
Mo.
cf.
loupianensis
and suggested that all the Neogene species such as †
Mo. pectinata
, †
Mobula irenae
, and †
Mo. loupianensis
are possibly conspecific. However, their material differs from the distinctive Miocene
Mo. loupianensis
in the presence of an irregular surface, sometimes dotted by deep folds on the labial face of the crown and by the root being higher than wide. If the Chattian species belongs to the mobulid group with comb-like teeth (close to the
Mo. hypostoma
/
Mo. rochebrunei
subgroup), they probably belong to a species other than †
Mo. loupianensis
.