Topic 1: Elasmobranch Evolution Flashcards
What is an Elasmobranch?
Group of specialized fish with a cartilaginous skeleton, specialized scales, and 5-7 gill slits.
What is under Class Chondrichthyes?
Subclass Elasmobranchii
What does subclass elasmobranchii contain?
Sharks (>440sp), skates, and rays (~500 sp)
Why are fossilized sharks hard to find? What is usually found?
because they are made up of cartilage
L> scales…placoid
, and _ all have the same parts but _ and _ are flat.
sharks,skates and rays
- skates and rays
What does neoselachians contain?
modern sharks
A lot of morphology of ancient sharks are based on speculation based on?
similarities seen in modern day sharks
What eras are in the eon Phanerozoic (3)
Cenozoic
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
What eras are in the eon Proterozic ?
Late, middle and early proterozic (2500 mya)
What eras are in the eon Archaen?
Late, middle and early arcane (3800mya ?)
What two periods are in the Cenozoic era?
- Quanternary ( 1.6 mya)
2. Tertiary ( 66 mya)
What three periods are in the Mesozoic era?
- Cretaceous ( 138 mya)
- Jurassic (205mya)
- Triassic ( 240 mya)
What seven periods are in the Paleozoic era?
- Permian ( 290 mya)
- Pennsylvanian (330 mya)
- Mississippian (360 mya)
- Devonian (410 mya)
- Silurian (435 mya)
- Ordovician (500 mya)
- Cambrian (570 mya)
What are the seven possible fossilized remains of a shark?
- Which is the most abundant?
- Which is not very common and why
- vertebrae
- fin spine
- rostral node
- teeth ** most abundant
- cartilage ( usually found in the jaw present if the right conditions are met)
- dermal denticle
- coprolite (poop) –> not exclusive to sharks.. all animals can deposit this…but usually with sharks it liquidized and disperses in the water so its not very common
Shark evolution dates back to what period?
Paleozoic era—-> Ordovician period (450-420mya)
Back in the Ordovician what fossilized records of sharks were found?BUT ?
- scales
L> Not all agree the oldest are from true sharks
What is the oldest named shark found back in the Ordovician period?When was it named?
Tantalepis gatehousie (named in 2012)
All evidence of sharks back in the ordovician were scales and what is the issue with them?
- not sure if they are from sharks or they are just shark LIKE.
The oldest undisputed shark scale is from the ___ period in Siberia 420mya.
L> what was the sharks name….description of its morphology?
- Silurian period
- Elegestolepis: no idea what it looked like
L> only scales were found
Fossil records for sharks became much richer in what period? (hint: 410-358mya)
Devonian
The Devonian period was called the age of ____ and the first ___ appeared. In terms of fossils which came first?Second? Did they look more like fish or sharks?
- Fishes
- tetrapods
- Teeth
- complete fossils
- FISH
In the devonian period there was massive radiation of many types of fishes including boney fishes and tetrapods. In this period the ____ predators dominated. The age of the ___ has not yet occurred. Early sharks looked more like a typical ___.
- large marine
- reptiles
- boney fish
The earliest shark teeth are from the ____ period 400nya. They were described as ___ and ___.
- Devonian
- two-pronged and puny
The two pronged and puny teeth found in the devonian period may have belonged to ___ and is similar to Xenacanthus what can we deduce?What was also found to be present?
- Leonodus a xenacanths (freshwater shark)
- likely fed on similar prey
- claspers
Comparisons of teeth from the devonian period with similar shark teeth structure can mean what two things?
- hunt the same prey
- or came from the same ancestor
The Leonodus found in the devonian period had an important feature. What was it?
- claspers…they are unique to sharks! no other organisms have it!
L>its used for reproduction
What can we tell from the claspers of a shark?
- its age via the structure of the clasper and if it has mated!
The Leonodus found in the devonian period had what kind of body?
- eel like than the typical shark…long and slender
Where was the oldest complete shark fossil from early Devonian (409mya) found?What was it?
- Campellton, NB
L>brain case found xenacanth… Antarctilamna
L> articulated remains from Antarctica and Australia
Describe Cladoselache! L> period? L> how many gill slits L> explain jaw and swim speed L> teeth? L> scales? L> spines? L> claspers?
- Devonian, 370mya
- 5-7 gill slits
- weak jaw, fast swimmer
- multi-cusped teeth
- few scales
- spines different
- lacked claspers….so how did it reproduce?