An articulated skeleton of the neoselachian shark Palaeocarcharias from the Late Jurassic Canjuers Lagerstätte (southeastern France)

Abstract

We report and describe the only articulated shark specimen collected from the Tithonian Canjuers Lagerstätte (Var, southeastern France). This specimen displays several anatomical and morphological features that support its attribution to the monotypic genus Palaeocarcharias. The specimen is furthermore confidently assigned to the species P. stromeri, whose articulated skeletal remains have been reported from coeval deposits in the Eichstätt area (Bavaria, southern Germany). The systematic position of this genus has been debated since its first description and remains controversial with recent works placing it as a basal lamniform or sister to the Lamniformes-Carcharhiniformes clade. The nearly complete specimen from Canjuers provides new anatomical information that complements previous descriptions based on the German material. Taken together, the morpho-anatomical features observed in Palaeocarcharias indicate that this genus is related to woobegong sharks (Orectolobiformes: Orectolobidae).