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Elasmobranch fishes from the Viséan of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

Roberta L. Paton
Roberta L. Paton
Affiliation:
Roberta L. Paton, Department of Geology, Royal Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, U.K.
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Abstract

Thirteen fragments of fossil elasmobranchs can be identified with certainty from East Kirkton. Those collected in situ range from Units 32 to 37. The remains appear to come from two different families of sharks: spines which show features typical of the Lower Carboniferous hybodont Tristychius arcuatus Agassiz; teeth from a xenacanth which fall within the size range of those found in the Lower Carboniferous xenacanth Diplodoselache woodi Dick. Both these genera are found in other Oil-Shale assemblages in the Lothians. These rare shark fossils reinforce the evidence that the East Kirkton Limestone was fresh water in origin.

Keywords

HybodontoideaTristychiusXenacanthidaDiplodoselacheViséanNamurianScotlandEast Kirkton

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