Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)

Background Coprolites, i.e., fossilized faeces, are an important source of knowledge on the diet and food processing mechanisms in the fossil record. Direct and indirect evidences for the dietary preferences of extinct sharks are rare in the fossil record. The first coprolite attributable to Ptychod...

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Main Authors: Dawid Mazurek, Mateusz Antczak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2023-12-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/16598.pdf
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author Dawid Mazurek
Mateusz Antczak
author_facet Dawid Mazurek
Mateusz Antczak
author_sort Dawid Mazurek
collection DOAJ
description Background Coprolites, i.e., fossilized faeces, are an important source of knowledge on the diet and food processing mechanisms in the fossil record. Direct and indirect evidences for the dietary preferences of extinct sharks are rare in the fossil record. The first coprolite attributable to Ptychodus containing prey remains from the European Cretaceous is documented here. Methods A coprolite from the Late Cretaceous of Opole (southern Poland) was scanned using micro-computed tomography to show the arrangement of the inclusions. In addition, the cross-section was examined under the SEM/EDS to analyse the microstructure and chemical composition of the inclusions. Results Brachiopod shell fragments and foraminiferan shells are recognized and identified among the variously shaped inclusions detected through the performed analysis. Conclusions The extinct shell-crushing shark Ptychodus has been identified as the likely producer of the examined coprolite. The presence of brachiopod shell fragments indicates that at least some species of this durophagous predatory shark may have preyed on small benthic elements on the sea bottom.
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spelling doaj.art-37904d9be1be407bb11282a5488021712023-12-17T15:05:17ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592023-12-0111e1659810.7717/peerj.16598Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)Dawid Mazurek0Mateusz Antczak1Institute of Biology, University of Opole, Opole, PolskaInstitute of Biology, University of Opole, Opole, PolskaBackground Coprolites, i.e., fossilized faeces, are an important source of knowledge on the diet and food processing mechanisms in the fossil record. Direct and indirect evidences for the dietary preferences of extinct sharks are rare in the fossil record. The first coprolite attributable to Ptychodus containing prey remains from the European Cretaceous is documented here. Methods A coprolite from the Late Cretaceous of Opole (southern Poland) was scanned using micro-computed tomography to show the arrangement of the inclusions. In addition, the cross-section was examined under the SEM/EDS to analyse the microstructure and chemical composition of the inclusions. Results Brachiopod shell fragments and foraminiferan shells are recognized and identified among the variously shaped inclusions detected through the performed analysis. Conclusions The extinct shell-crushing shark Ptychodus has been identified as the likely producer of the examined coprolite. The presence of brachiopod shell fragments indicates that at least some species of this durophagous predatory shark may have preyed on small benthic elements on the sea bottom.https://peerj.com/articles/16598.pdfFossilCoproliteChondrichthyesSharkPalaeoecology
spellingShingle Dawid Mazurek
Mateusz Antczak
Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)
PeerJ
Fossil
Coprolite
Chondrichthyes
Shark
Palaeoecology
title Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)
title_full Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)
title_fullStr Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)
title_full_unstemmed Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)
title_short Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)
title_sort late cretaceous coprolite from the opole area southern poland as evidence for a variable diet in shell crushing shark ptychodus elasmobranchii ptychodontidae
topic Fossil
Coprolite
Chondrichthyes
Shark
Palaeoecology
url https://peerj.com/articles/16598.pdf
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AT mateuszantczak latecretaceouscoprolitefromtheopoleareasouthernpolandasevidenceforavariabledietinshellcrushingsharkptychoduselasmobranchiiptychodontidae