Middle Eocene vertebrate fauna from the Aridal Formation, Sabkha of Gueran, southwestern Morocco
Author
Zouhri, Samir
Author
Gingerich, Philip D.
Author
Khalloufi, Bouziane
Author
Bourdon, Estelle
Author
Adnet, Sylvain
Author
Jouve, Stéphane
Author
Elboudali, Najia
Author
Amane, Ayoub
Author
Rage, Jean-Claude
Author
Tabuce, Rodolphe
text
Geodiversitas
2021
2021-03-11
43
5
121
150
journal article
7746
10.5252/geodiversitas2021v43a5
e42658a2-0e15-4e90-9bc5-0d00cbcbd781
1638-9395
4605963
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:697FC553-E37B-4EF9-97A4-950E4DEE246C
Otodus
(
Carcharocles
) cf.
sokolowi
(Jaekel, 1895)
EXAMINED MATERIAL. —
Around twenty broken isolated teeth, figured material includes FSAC Bouj-320, 321 and 322
.
DESCRIPTION
Teeth can reach up to
10 cm
in height, displaying a large triangular cusp with well-marked and regular serrations on the cutting edges and a pair of lateral cusplets (
Fig. 2A
). Cusplets are not very high when conserved and often divergent in lateral teeth (
Fig. 2A
) to less developed in anterior teeth (
Fig. 2B
).
REMARKS
Teeth of
Otodus
(
Carcharocles
) cf.
sokolowi
are relatively common around the archaeocete carcasses (
Fig. 2
A-C).
Case & Cappetta (1990)
have discussed about the taxonomic distinctness of
Otodus
(
Carcharocles
)
sokolowi
compared to the other Eocene species of subgenus, and in particularly with the smaller and coeval species
Otodus
(
Carcharocles
)
auriculatus
(Blainville, 1818)
.
Otodus
(
Carcharocles
)
sokolowi
appears widely distributed and relatively common in the tropical marine realm since the GEA-C (uppermost Bartonian-lowermost Priabonian) and throughout the Priabonian successions (GE D-G, BQ, QS) according to
Underwood
et al.
(2011)
, southwestern
Morocco
included (
Adnet
et al.
2010
). However this species seems relatively discrete in older deposits, as in the MI (
Underwood
et al.
2011
). Its occurrence in Bartonian of Gueran,
Morocco
, testify of its spatial expansion along the Tethysian coasts during the Bartonian.