First shark record (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the Paleogene of Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Abstract

This is a short report about the first Cenozoic shark fossil from Svalbard. The specimen derives from the late Paleocene greenish sandstone of the Grumantbyen Formation, which is exposed in Fossildalen on the western side of Colesbukta on Spitsbergen. The single tooth is assigned to the Paleogene sand tiger shark genus Striatolamia that also is known from other polar regions. The Fossildalen specimen represents the northernmost Paleogene shark record, and is the second reported body fossil of a vertebrate from the Cenozoic of Spitsbergen.

Keywords

• arctic
• paleocene
• grumantbyen formation
• sand tiger shark
• tooth morphology