Scyliorhinus woodwardi

Scyliorhinus woodwardi

Cappetta, 1976

Common name Catshark
Fossil group Sharks & Rays
Order Carcharhiniformes
Family Scyliorhinidae
Genus Scyliorhinus
Taxonomic status Accepted
Geological age Ypresian

Summary

Scyliorhinus woodwardi was a small catshark and probably lived close to the seabed in early Eocene marine environments. Modern members of Scyliorhinus are generally modest-sized predators that search the bottom for a wide range of small prey, and a comparable lifestyle is a reasonable interpretation for the fossil species.

Its pointed teeth were suited to grasping small fishes and invertebrates rather than cutting large prey or crushing shells. Crustaceans and cephalopods may also have formed part of its diet.

The species is known mostly from isolated teeth, so details of its body pattern and behaviour are lost. These tiny fossils nevertheless represent an important part of the London Clay ecosystem: the numerous small sharks that hunted among the seabed fauna beneath the larger marine predators.

Quick Identification

Look for: a small catshark tooth with a sharp central cusp, lateral cusplets, basal crown ornament and a broad two-lobed root; compare complete teeth with Foumtizia, Casieria and Pachyscyllium.

Diagnostic Features

  • Central cusp is slender, triangular and sharply pointed.
  • Lateral cusplets are present on intact teeth.
  • Basal crown surface shows fine ornament characteristic of scyliorhinid teeth.
  • Root is broad and bilobed beneath the crown.
  • Jaw-position variation changes cusp inclination and cusplet development.

Fossil Details

Preservation
Small cusplets and fine ornament are easily lost by breakage or rolling. A smooth central-cusp fragment is not sufficient for species-level identification.

Similar Species

Recorded Fossil Sites

References

  • Cappetta, H. (1976). Sélaciens nouveaux du London Clay de l’Essex (Yprésien du Bassin de Londres). Geobios, 9(5), 551–575 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
Last Reviewed
10 August 2026 Reviewed by Sam Harris