Otodus (Carcharocles) angustidens (Agassiz, 1843)

Szabó, Márton & Kocsis, László, 2016, A preliminary report on the Early Oligocene (Rupelian, Kiscellian) selachians from the Kiscell Formation (Buda Mts, Hungary), with the re-discovery of Wilhelm Weiler’s shark teeth, Fragmenta Palaeontologica Hungarica 33, pp. 31-64 : 49-51

Otodus (Carcharocles) angustidens (Agassiz, 1843)

( Figs 45–50 )

1843 Carcharodon angustidens n. sp. – AGASSIZ, p. 255, pl. 28, figs 20–25, pl. 30, fig. 3.

1933 Carcharodon angustidens var. turgidus Ag. – WEILER, p. 25, pl. 1, fig. 3, pl. 3, fig. 2.

1933 Carcharodon angustidens Ag. – WEILER, p. 26, pl. 3, fig. 3.

1993 Carcharocles angustidens (Agassiz, 1843) – BAUT, p. 5, figs 12–15.

1999 Carcharocles angustidens (Agassiz, 1843) – BAUT & GÉNAULT, pp. 25–26, figs 12–13, pl. 4, fig. 11.

1999 Carcharocles angustidens (Agassiz, 1843) – MÜLLER, p. 39, pl. 4, figs 7, 9, 11–13.

2001 Carcharocles angustidens (Agassiz, 1843) – REINECKE et al., pp. 19–20, pls 28–30.

2005 Carcharocles angustidens (Agassiz, 1843) – REINECKE et al., pp. 35–36, pl. 20, figs 7–9.

2013 Otodus angustidens (Agassiz, 1835) – SCHULTZ, pp. 75–76, pl. 5, figs 14a, b.

2014 Otodus (Carcharocles) sp. – REINECKE et al., p. 23, pl. 22, fig. 2.

Referred material: 50 teeth (V.61.668., V.61.733., V.61.751., V.61.778., V.61.798., V.61.823., V.61.827., V.61.833., V.61.837., V.61.846., V.61.850., V.61.851., V.61.859., V.61.888., V.61.900., V.61.906., V.81.138., VER 2016.3399., VER 2016.3400., VER 2016.3401., VER 2016.3402., VER 2016.3403., VER 2016.3404., VER 2016.3405., VER 2016.3406., VER 2016.3426.) .

Remarks: The teeth have triangular, labiolingually straight crown with serrated mesial and distal carinae. The root is wide, massive, and bifurcated. The teeth bear 1–1 lateral cusplets both mesially and distally. The cusplets are variable in shape, and they have also visually serrated carinae. The anterior teeth are symmetrical, while the anterior-lateral-distal teeth show asymmetrical contour in labiolingual view. The species has been reported from other Early Oligocene localities around Europe (see BAUT & GÉNAULT 1999; REINECKE et al. 2001). The species of this genus are among the currently known biggest macropredator sharks ever lived. This species must have been the top predator of the local fauna.

In 1933, Weiler figured a tooth from the Kiscell Clay under the name Carcharodon angustidens ( WEILER 1933, pl. 3, fig. 3; also Fig. 50 of this work). The identification done by Weiler was absolutely correct, however, since 1933 the species has been re-classified several times. Following CAPPETTA (2012) the actual name of the species is Otodus (Carcharocles) angustidens . The specimen was found in the collection of the HNHM (re-inventoried as VER 2016.3403.), with some damages on the root (see Figs 48–49 ). The specimen figured by WEILER (1933) bears all important features of lower anterior teeth. The cutting edges and the root are damaged, however, the condition of the tooth did not change much since the first publication of Weiler. The tooth is easy to identify by the serrations on the only preserved lateral cusplet and the missing sections of the cutting edges.

Dozens of other specimens are placed in the collection of the HNHM, some of them are more or less complete, or at least complete enough for taxonomic identification.

Figures

Figs 45–50. Otodus (Carcharocles) angustidens (Agassiz, 1843). – 45–47. Lower anterior tooth (V.61.822.). – 45. Labial view. – 46. Profile view. – 47. Lingual view. – 48–49. Lower anterior tooth (VER 2016.3403.). – 48. Labial view. – 49. Lingual view. – 50. Specimen VER 2016.3403. as figured by WEILER (1933). Scale bars: 30 mm