Interrelationships of Mesozoic hybodont sharks as indicated by dental morphology – preliminary results

Abstract

As many hybodont sharks are known solely from their teeth, this investigation approaches the phylogeny of the group with an emphasis on tooth morphology and dentitional patterns. The preliminary results presented here suggest that at least four different lineages of hybodont sharks occurred in the Mesozoic. Dentitional characters imply a close relationship within the Lonchidiidae (Lonchidion, Vectiselachos, Parvodus, and tentatively Hylaeobatis), within the Hybodontinae (Hybodus and Egertonodus) and in another, unnamed subfamily of the Hybodontidae,
including Planohybodus, Secarodus and Priohybodus. There is also weak support for a grouping of Acrodus, Asteracanthus and Palaeobates in the Acrodontinae, while Lissodus is left without family designation due to a rather unique dentition and cephalic spine morphology. “Polyacrodus” is considered a nomen dubium as there are no characters to diagnose the genus based on the type species.