Skinny shark

Ostenoselache stenosoma
Common name
Skinny shark
Scientific name
Ostenoselache stenosoma
Type
Fossil
Other preserved Ostenoselache specimens.
  • MVSP-00185
  • MVSP-00182
  • MVSP-00183
  • MVSP-00160

Description

Ostenoselache (Ostenoselache stenosoma) is an extinct shark belonging to the Neoselacians. It lived in the Lower Jurassic (about 200 to 195 million years ago) and its fossil remains have been found in Italy. It was characterized by an unusually elongated rostrum.
This shark possessed a very distinctive body shape, very different from that of any current or extinct shark. The body was very slender (hence the nickname skinny shark informally given to it by scholars), and in total the animal could reach a maximum length of about 30 centimeters.
The spine consisted of about 150 spool-shaped vertebrae. The skull, although poorly preserved in most specimens, was very distinctive: the orbits were large, while the mandible was long and thin and equipped with about 30 simple, single cusped teeth.
The skull extended into an elongated and flattened rostrum, which projected well beyond the mouth; the rostrum was completely different from the structure found in animals such as sawfish, goblin sharks, or rays, and was formed by a cartilaginous skeleton with a complex structure, with a series of branches projected forward.
The fins are little known, but many specimens retain the additional cartilage that forms the pelvic appendage of males. The anus was located far forward, and the tail was very long.
Ostenoselache is the only shark to possess a single median fin, the anal, extending from the anus to the tip of the tail and supported by numerous radial cartilages.

Scientific Classification

Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Elasmobranchii
Order
Synechodontiformes
Family
Ostenoselachidae
Genus
Ostenoselache
Species
stenosoma (Duffin, C.J. 1998)
Scientific name
Ostenoselache stenosoma

Preserved specimen

The specimen is incomplete; part of the trunk, side fins, and caudal fins are missing.

Cataloging

SIRBeC
7s060-00184

Continue exploring

In the Paleontology Collection.

  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00073
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00075
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00083
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00081
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00079
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00077
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00204
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00069
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00070
  • Paleontology
  • MVSP-00011

Continue exploring

Discover more Collections

Association “Storia Natura e Vita”
Piazza Camozzi, 2
22010 Grandola ed Uniti (CO) –
Italy

VAT ID: IT 03290790132
Tax ID: 93007310134

[email protected]

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