First fossils of the extant blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin

Abstract

Here we report on two fossil teeth attributed to the blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus (Elasmobranchii: Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from lower Pliocene (ca. 5.1-4.5 Ma) 1 marine deposits of Tuscany (central Italy). A survey of the palaeoichthyological literature and online resources reveals that fossils of C. limbatus have been reported from Neogene and Quaternary deposits of the Americas and Indo-Pacific Asia. Therefore, the Tuscan specimens described herein represent the first occurrence of C. limbatus as a fossil from both Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. Our finds suggest that the blacktip shark reached a circumglobal distribution in warm waters (including the then warmer-than-today Mediterranean Sea) not later than the Pliocene; at the same time, they demonstrate that the continued study of the relatively well-investigated Neogene elasmobranch faunas of Italy can still result in significant novelties. Futher investigations on other shark tooth assemblages from shoreface, warm-water, marginal-marine deposits are likely to reveal new occurrences of C. limbatus in the Pliocene of the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere (e.g., along the palaeontologically underexplored Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Africa).

Polyplacophoran Feeding Traces on Mediterranean Pliocene Sirenian Bones: Insights on the Role of Grazing Bioeroders in Shallow-Marine Vertebrate Falls

“…Palaeontological highlights of the Arcille quarry include: (i) various specimens of Metaxytherium subapenninum , the latest sirenian of the Mediterranean Sea, which on the whole comprise a reference record for reconstructing the osteoanatomy, phylogenetic relationships and palaeoecological habits of this halitheriine dugongid species [ 15 , 19 ]; (ii) the holotype and referred specimen of Casatia thermophila , which represents one of the geologically oldest monodontid taxa, as well as the first and only representative of this odontocete family in the Mediterranean Basin [ 21 , 22 ]; (iii) the holotype and referred specimens of Nebriimimus wardi , an idiosyncratic rajiform batoid whose unusual multicuspid tooth morphology is currently unparalleled [ 23 ]; and (iv) some teeth assigned to the extant requiem shark species Carcharhinus limbatus , which represent the first occurrence of the blacktip shark as a fossil from both Europe and the Mediterranean Basin [ 24 ]. Other remarkable vertebrate fossils from the sandy strata exposed at Arcille include two partial skeletons of a marlin (cf.…”

“…Makaira sp. [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. The molluscan assemblage includes Glycymeris nummaria , Limopsis aurita , Venus nux , Procardium indicum , Helminthia triplicata , Oligodia spirata , Thetystrombus coronatus and Neverita olla [ 16 ]; scaphopods, barnacles and solitary corals (flabellids) are also present [ 25 ].…”

A Review of the Paleobiology of Some Neogene Sharks and the Fossil Records of Extant Shark Species

“…Fossil record: Miocene: India (Orissa) [134]; Early Miocene: USA (Delaware) (Purdy 1998) [176]; Early Miocene to Late Pliocene: Colombia (Guajira Peninsula) (as "cf.") [95]; Middle Miocene to Early Pliocene: USA (Florida) [128]; Early Pliocene: Italy (Tuscany) [177].…”

A Review of the Palaeobiology of Some Neogene Sharks and the Fossil Record of Extant Shark Species

“…Carcharhinus limbatus (Müller & Henle, 1839) Fossil record: Miocene: India (Orissa) (Bhalla & Dev 1975); Early Miocene: USA (Delaware) (Purdy 1998); Early Miocene to Late Pliocene: Colombia (Guajira Peninsula) (Carrillo-Briceño et al 2019, as "cf"); Middle Miocene to early Pliocene: USA (Florida) (Boyd 2016); Early Pliocene: Italy (Tuscany) (Collareta et al 2021a).…”