Late Cretaceous Elasmobranchs from the Eutaw Formation at Luxapalila Creek, Lowndes County, Mississippi

Abstract

A diverse vertebrate assemblage was recovered from the Eutaw Formation along a stretch of Luxapalila Creek in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The assemblage is dominated by elasmobranchs but also includes osteichthyans (seven species), archosaurs (one crocodilian, two dinosaurs), and turtles (trionychid and chelonioid). Twenty one elasmobranch taxa were identified (14 selachians and seven batoids), including new species Meristodonoides multiplicatus, Lonchidion cristatum, and Cantioscyllium grandis. Our sample also enabled us to expand the known range of variation for some other poorly diagnosed species. The elasmobranch assemblage consists predominantly of species with presumed benthic habits (14), including the orectolobiform sharks and sclerorhynchid rays, whereas the seven lamniform sharks represent pelagic species. We believe that the sharks and rays inhabited a warm-water, nearshore marine environment.