Hypotodus verticalis
Hypotodus verticalis
Summary
Hypotodus verticalis was a sand-tiger-type lamniform shark and an active predator in Palaeogene seas. Its tall grasping teeth formed a dentition designed to seize mobile prey rather than break shells or grind food.
Fishes were probably important prey, with cephalopods and other soft-bodied marine animals also plausible. The strong central cusps and smaller side cusplets would have helped hold struggling prey as it was swallowed.
The species is known largely from isolated teeth, but the range of tooth shapes shows that different parts of the jaw performed slightly different roles. Taken together, the dentition portrays a specialised pursuit or ambush predator forming part of the diverse lamniform community of the early Eocene.
Quick Identification
Look for: a robust, tall, smooth-edged tooth with a strong central cusp, small lateral cusplets and a broad two-lobed root; the crown is generally less conspicuously striated than in Striatolamia or Palaeohypotodus.
Diagnostic Features
- Principal cusp is tall but comparatively robust at its base.
- Cutting edges are smooth and unserrated.
- One pair of lateral cusplets is normally developed on complete teeth.
- Lingual crown ornament is weak compared with strongly striated odontaspidid morphologies.
- Root is broad, strongly bilobed and proportionally sturdy.
Fossil Details
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
London Clay Formation
Walton Member
References
- Casier, E. (1966). Faune ichthyologique du London Clay. 496 pp.. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London View reference
- Rayner, D.; Mitchell, T.; Rayner, M. (2009). London Clay Fossils of Kent and Essex. 228 pp.. Medway Fossil and Mineral Society, Rochester, Kent View reference
- Ward, D.J. (1980). The distribution of sharks, rays and chimaeroids in the English Palaeogene. Tertiary Research, 3(1), 13–19 View reference