Sharks of Kansas

SHARKS OF KANSAS

Last updated 01/21/2014

(At far left, Cretoxyrhina mantelli; at left, Cretalamna appendiculata in lingual view - both from the Smoky Hill Chalk

I have referred to the period from April of 2002 through July 2003 (and into the present) as the "Year of the Shark" at Oceans of Kansas. In spite of my primary interest in marine reptiles, I find that I have been drawn into working with the remains of ancient sharks. It has been an interesting and educational opportunity.

The discovery of a very large (7 m) Cretoxyrhina mantelli "Ginsu Shark" started things off for me in late April, 2002. Then, in August, my wife and I recovered the fragmented remains of a Lower Permian shark called Ctenacanthus from near Herington, Kansas. In June, we were introduced to the shark fauna from the North Sulfur River in Texas, and more importantly, to the use of a binocular microscope in the recovery of tiny shark teeth and scales. Needless to say, it was a whole new world. Later in the fall, my wife and I, with the help of Earl Manning and Donald Hattin, started working on a fish tooth conglomerate from the Blue Hill Shale (Middle Turonian) of Jewell County. My wife (mostly) and I hand picked hundreds of tiny selachian and bony fish teeth from a matrix that was was literally made up of thousands of Enchodus teeth. Although documented from other localities in the Midwest (Texas, South Dakota, Canada), many of the shark species we found had never been reported from Kansas. That study resulted in an abstract that was accepted for the 2003 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting, and will eventually produce a paper. In the spring of 2003, I worked with several of my friends (Tom Caggiano, Kenshu Shimada, and Shawn Hamm) on several posters and a presentation, mostly about ptychodontid sharks from the Smoky Hill Chalk, which were given at the 4th annual Paleontology Symposium at the annual Kansas Academy of Science meeting. Then in June of 2003, I started working on the fauna of the Kiowa Shale (Middle Albian, ~110 mya) with Shawn Hamm, and discovered a few more "new" species for Kansas. Kenshu Shimada and I will have a paper published this fall on the latest occurrence of Ptychodus mammillaris in Kansas, and I am now working with Michelle Darnell on her discovery of another P. mammillaris tooth in the Fairport Chalk Member of the Carlile Shale. Then, in July, 2003, I was contacted by Keith Ewell, who was collecting shark teeth from the Lower Permian, and began to learn more about that shark fauna. "

In October 2003, we presented our "Lovewell Fauna" (fish tooth conglomerate layer of the upper Blue Hill Shale Member of the Carlile Shale, middle Turonian) as a poster at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology:

Sharks have lived in the oceans that once covered Kansas for almost as long as there have been sharks. While most of the shark teeth and other shark remains shown on this page are from the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic, the Paleozoic shark teeth shown at the bottom include examples of some of the first vertebrate remains described from Kansas by Joseph Leidy in 1859. The ages of the shark teeth shown on the page progress from the youngest (Late Cretaceous) shark remains to the oldest (Lower Permian) as you go downward.

You can now download a copy of this early article on Kansas sharks by S.W. Williston - Provided by the Kansas Geological Survey.

Williston, S. W. 1900. Cretaceous fishes: Selachians and Pycnodonts. University Geological Survey Kansas VI pp. 237-256, with pls.

LEFT: The lower jaw of a modern Bull Shark (Carcharinus leucas) on exhibit in the Fryxell Geology Museum at Augustana College, Rock Island, IL. This jaw is about 30 cm (12 in.) across and nicely illustrates the process by which shark teeth are formed in rows or 'families' of 7 or more teeth on the insides of the lower and upper jaws. As the tooth matures, it rotates almost 180 degrees and moves over the edge of the jaw, replacing an older tooth which has been shed. The picture also illustrates the differences in size and shape of the teeth from front to back in the same jaw (note that the shape of the teeth, especially the shape of root, can also differ between the upper and lower jaws). Teeth are replaced at intervals from two weeks to several months, depending on the age of the individual shark and the species. A shark may shed thousands of teeth during its lifetime.

How large were sharks in Kansas during the Late Cretaceous? The largest that we know much about was a species called Cretoxyrhina mantelli. Nearly complete specimens indicate that this shark was over 20 feet long, or about the size of a modern Great White. However, it was much smaller than the huge sharks that lived during the Miocene (5-15 million years ago) called Carcharocles megalodon. Most of the sharks during the late Cretaceous were much smaller and would have looked about like the sharks that are living today.

LEFT: A medium-sized (4 in), damaged tooth of Carcharocles megalodon compared to the two largest teeth of Cretoxyrhina mantelli (about 2 in) that I have ever found.

Late Coniacian through Early Campanian (87-82 mya)

Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation; Ellis, Trego, Gove and Logan Counties: Most of these teeth have been collected in the field as they eroded from relatively soft chalk. While the majority are found as isolated, "shed" teeth, the Smoky Hill Chalk does produced associated specimens, and occasionally, nearly complete sharks.

Cretoxyrhina mantelli: The Ginsu Shark*

* AUTHORS NOTE: Over the past several years, we have found a number of instances where the fossilized ‘parts and pieces’ of mosasaurs are all that remained of some sort of feeding activity. In some cases, these fossils have been partially digested by something big enough to swallow a large piece of a mosasaur. In others, there are embedded pieces of teeth from the large lamnid shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli. In one well documented specimen (FHSM VP-13283), there were embedded Cretoxyrhina teeth, two vertebrae that had been bitten completely through, and the evidence of partial digestion (Shimada, 1997; Everhart, 1999). We were left with the conclusion that it was this large and apparently very powerful shark that was feeding on mosasaurs. Since the shark had no common name in the literature, and since it fed by ‘slicing’ up its victim into bite-size pieces, we decided that the title “Ginsu Shark”, was an appropriate, descriptive (and somewhat humorous) name for this awesome creature. Ginsu©, of course, refers to a brand of knives that were advertized on television years ago for their sharp blades and ability to "slice and dice."

	*Left: "Ol' Big and Ugly": the largest (52 mm) Cretoxyrhina mantelli* tooth in my collection. From Gove County, Early Santonian. It's a shed tooth from one VERY large shark. Right: The first Cretoxyrhina mantelli tooth I ever collected some thirty years ago, and still one of the prettiest I've seen; Ellis County, Late Coniacian.**
	*Left: Lingual and labial views of a nearly perfect Cretoxyrhina mantelli* tooth. Gove County, KS, Late Coniacian. (see picture below for size comparison)** Right: Labial and lingual views of a not-so- perfect C. mantelli tooth found in October, 2003. The labial side of the tooth (last picture) is rough, and appears to have been damaged during formation. Trego Co., Late Coniacian.
	*LEFT: A large and nearly perfect Cretoxyrhina mantelli* tooth found by Keith Ewell in Trego County, KS. Photos by K. Ewell.** RIGHT: This giant anterior tooth, collected many years ago by Vi and Earnest Fick, is the largest Cretoxyrhina mantelli tooth that I have ever seen. Shimada (1997a) reported the largest Cretoxyrhina teeth that he had examined were about 54 mm in total height. Although the broken tip of this tooth has been reconstructed, it would have measured at least 70 mm.
	Left: An assortment of Cretoxyrhina mantelli from various locations in the mouth of the shark. Mostly Gove County, Late Coniacian. Right: Two quite large and nice Cretoxyrhina mantelli teeth that demonstrate what a few months of exposure can do to sharks teeth. Click here to see what really happens when "Bad things happen to good teeth" due to weathering and to cattle/deer stepping on them. Gove County, Late Coniacian.
	Left: Part of a group of 117 Cretoxyrhina mantelli teeth (and two vertebrae) originally from a single shark (FHSM VP-14004). The photo shows the large variety of shapes and sizes of teeth that were a part of the dentition of this species. Unfortunately, these teeth represent the 'left-over' remains of a nearly complete specimen that was poached (and essentially destroyed) from private property. *Ten Squalicorax falcatus* teeth associated with the remains are curated as FHSM VP-14005) Right: A closer view of several of the teeth of FHSM VP-14004. See Bourdon and Everhart (2011) for additional photos and analysis of this specimen.**
	*Left: Lingual and labial views of a symphysial tooth from the upper left jaw of a fairly large Cretoxyrhina mantelli.* Right: A diagram showing the arrangement of teeth in the front of the upper and lower jaws of Cretoxyrhina mantelli. Note that the symphysial teeth are in the center of both the upper and lower jaws. Click here for a lateral view of the upper and lower jaws.

LEFT: Calcified vertebral centra from a large Cretoxyrhina mantelli (FHSM VP-2184). The specimen included over 100 centra, but only a few teeth.

RIGHT: Overview of the entire FHSM VP-2184 specimen.

Cretalamna appendiculata

Left: A nice and very typical Cretalamna appendiculata lateral tooth, Gove Co., KS, Late Coniacian, in lingual and labial view.

Right: Another lateral Cretalamna appendiculata tooth from the lower chalk (Late Coniacian) of Gove County, KS. Collected by me in September, 2004.

Note that the name is mis-spelled in the labels on both specimens - Cretolamna - (See Shimada, 2005).

Left: A collection of shed Cretalamna teeth made by Keith Ewell from a single locality in the lower Smoky Hill Chalk of Trego County, Kansas. These teeth have recently (2013) been described as a new species (C. ewelli) by Siverson et al. 2013. In addition, they named a second new species of Cretalamna (C. hattini) from a fairly complete specimen from Logan County, Kansas. The specimen was collected by Marion Bonner and is presently in the LA County Museum (LACM 128126) .

Scapanorhynchus cf. S. raphiodon - Goblin Sharks

	Left: A group of five associated Scapanorhynchus cf. S. raphiodon teeth (FHSM VP-13961 discovered in southeastern Gove County, KS (Late Coniacian). These tiny teeth were collected by Shawn Hamm. They occur rarely in the lower Smoky Hill Chalk. ). See: Hamm, S. A. and K. Shimada. 2002. Associated tooth set of the late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Scapanorhynchus raphiodon (Mitsukurinidae), from the Niobrara Chalk of Western Kansas. Kansas Acad. Sci. Trans. 105(1-2)18-26. *Right: An anterior tooth of Scapanorhynchus raphiodon* from the Late Coniacian Smoky Hill Chalk of Trego County, KS. Found by Keith Ewell, 09/2004.**
	*Left: A group of six, unassociated Scapanorhynchus* teeth (FHSM VP-15730) collected by Keith Ewell and myself in September, 2004, from the lower chalk of Trego County, KS. Right: A posterior (lateral) tooth of Scapanorhynchus from the Late Coniacian Smoky Hill Chalk of Trego County, KS. that I collected 09/2004.**
	*Left: An anterior Scapanorhynchus* tooth, in lingual (left) and labial view, found by Tom Caggiano in the lower Smoky Hill Chalk (below MU4), Gove County, KS, in July, 2005. (Scale = mm) Right: Another anterior Scapanorhynchus tooth that I collected from lower Smoky Hill Chalk in May, 2010.**

Johnlongia sp.

Left: The first tooth of a genus of shark (Johnlongia parvidens; FHSM VP-15545) recently discovered in the Smoky Hill Chalk of Trego County by Keith Ewell, 11/2003. (See Shimada, Ewell and Everhart, 2004). Johnlongia is known from older sediments in South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Canada and Australia. The species was originally described as Carcharias parvidens from South Dakota by Cappetta (1973). The genus was renamed by Siverson in 1996. Scale = mm

Right: A second Johnlongia parvidens tooth (FHSM VP-17602) collected in 2010 from Smoky Hill Chalk (Late Coniacian) of Trego County, KS. Scale = mm

Squalicorax - Crow sharks

NOTE: While I can honestly take credit for being the first to use the term "Ginsu shark" as a common (but appropriate) name for Cretoxyrhina mantelli (above), the origin of the term "Crow Shark is a bit more mysterious. I don't know when it was first used or who used it, but I suspect it goes back to the meaning of the Greek word "Corax." The genus name, "Squalicorax" was originally just "Corax." (e.g. Corax falcatus Agassiz 1843). Corax is a name found in Greek mythology, but also is the species name for the common raven (a bird) of Europe (Corvus corax). (From Wikipedia, in regard to Corvus corax, "the specific epithet, corax/???a?, is the Greek word for "raven" or "crow". Whitley (1939) changed the genus name to Squalicorax. At some point, Squalicorax was given the common name, Crow shark.

The genus Squalicorax evolved through several "species" during the deposition of the chalk in the Western Interior Seaway, approx. 87-82 million years ago. Squalicorax falcatus is known from the Middle Cenomanian in Kansas (See the earliest Kansas teeth from the middle Cenomanian Upper Dakota below). S. kaupi begins to appear in small numbers during the early Santonian and pretty much replaces S. falcatus in Kansas by the early Campanian. A few S. pristodontus teeth have been found right at the top of the Smoky Hill Chalk.

LEFT: Lingual and labial views of a typical Squalicorax falcatus tooth; From the middle Santonian Smoky Hill Chalk, Little Pyramids, Logan Co., Kansas.

RIGHT: Lingual and labial views of a posterior lateral tooth of Squalicorax kaupi, upper chalk (Lower Campanian), Logan County, Kansas.

	Left: Pseudocorax laevis (FHSM VP-15823) is a rare shark species found in the lower (Late Coniacian) Chalk. This tooth was found by Keith Ewell in 2004 in Trego County (below MU 2). Note the lack of serrations. Right: An unusual Squalicorax sp. tooth in labial (left) and lingual views that was found in situ under the recently discovered dinosaur vertebrae. Note the very weak serrations on the main cusp and the lack of serrations on the posterior accessory cusp. (Upper Coniacian)
	*Left: A Squalicorax kaupi* tooth in lingual (far left) and labial views. Tooth was found in the Smoky Hill Chalk of Gove County above Hattin's marker unit 8. Right: A typical Squalicorax kaupi tooth (FHSM VP-17566), from the Early Campanian chalk of Logan County. Note the change in the shape of the cusp and the root.**
	*Left: A portion of the preserved jaw cartilage of a Squalicorax kaupi* in the Sternberg Museum (FHSM VP-2213) with 5 teeth in their natural arrangement (labial view). Right: Detail of the jaw of FHSM VP-2213 showing two teeth in labial view.**
	Left: A typical Squalicorax pristodontus tooth, but a rare discovery at the very top of the Smoky Hill Chalk - early Campanian, Logan Co, KS. This tooth and two others were collected by Pete Bussen. *Right: Squalicorax* "what?" ... One of several specimens of an unusual tooth form from the lower Smoky Hill Chalk collected by Keith Ewell.**

Ptychodontids - Pavement-toothed or Crusher sharks

Ptychodus is a genus of durophagous (shell-crushing) sharks from the Late Cretaceous. Their teeth are often found as fossils around the world, but most often in the sediments deposited in the Western Interior Sea of North America. They became extinct during the Santonian, about 85 million years ago.

LEFT and RIGHT: Associated upper and lower jaw plates of Ptychodus mortoni collected from middle Smoky Hill Chalk Gove Co., Kansas, and prepared by Dennis Olson.

	Ptychodus anonymus is one of 4 species of ptychodontid sharks found in the Smoky Hill Chalk. *Left: Ptychodus anonymus* teeth, from the medial row. Right: Ptychodus anonymus posterior lateral teeth (FHSM VP-14854) from the lower chalk of Gove County.**
	Ptychodus mortoni is the only ptychodontid species which has ridges radiating from the center of the tooth. All other species have ridges that run more or less parallel across the crown. *Left: Ptychodus anonymus* (FHSM VP-2238) jaw plate in the collection of the Sternberg Museum. Right: Ptychodus mortoni (FHSM VP-336)**
	*Left: Ptychodus mortoni* teeth (FHSM VP- 335) note the excessive wear on the tooth at far left. Right: Detail of a Ptychodus mortoni lower jaw plate (FHSM VP-14785) that I found in Gove County in 1990.**
	*Left: Ptychodus martini* - 100+ associated teeth, Gove Co., KS (Late Coniacian). Found by Shawn Hamm in Gove County. Right: Detail from the type specimen of Ptychodus martini Williston 1900 in the collection of the University of Kansas (KUVP 55271).**
	Left: A badly weathered P. martini found by Pam Everhart in the lower chalk of Gove County, KS. Note the flat aspect of the crown in both of these specimens. No other tooth crown of a Ptychodus species is quite this flat. *Right: Ptychodus martini* -Left: A single tooth from the Late Coniacian Smoky Hill Chalk of Trego County, KS. Found by Keith Ewell, 11/2003.**
	LEFT: Occlusal and medial (?) views of a tooth of Ptychodus martini found by Pam Everhart in the low chalk of Trego County (10/2004). The identification is based on the description provided by S.W. Williston, 1898. *RIGHT: One of the smaller 'symphysial' teeth that serve as spacers between the two medial rows of large teeth in the upper jaw of a Ptychodus* (found by Keith Ewell, 10/2004).**
	Left: A large Ptychodus polygyrus (KUVP 55237) in the collection of the University of Kansas, This specimen was the subject of one of the first photographs ever published of shark teeth (Williston, 1900). *Right: Another large P. polygyrus* (FHSM VP-76) at the Sternberg Museum. Note that this species has now been re-identified by Hamm (2010) in the Western Interior Seaway as Ptychodus marginalis.**
	*Left: A Ptychodus polygyrus* in the collection of the Sternberg Museum (FHSM VP-15008); Gove Co., KS (Late Coniacian). Found by Tom Caggiano. Right: Ptychodus mammillaris lateral tooth -FHSM VP-14022, from near the base of the Fort Hays Limestone, (Lower Coniacian) , Ellis Co., KS. Collected by Mike Everhart.**

Rhinobatos incertus - Guitar fish

Left: The first Rhinobatos incertus (male breeding phase) tooth to be found in the lower (late Coniacian) Smoky Hill Chalk. Although not common anywhere in the Niobrara, Rhinobatos has been previously reported from the upper chalk (early Campanian) by Stewart (1990) and most recently from the middle (Santonian) by Beeson and Shimada (2004). An unreported Rhinobatos tooth from Kansas is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. (see Everhart, 2007)

Right: A total of six small Rhinobatos teeth were recovered from the same sample.

Left: A male breeding phase Rhinobatos incertus (FHSM VP-16442) tooth that I recently (10/2005) recovered from a matrix sample collected by Chuck Bonner from just below the Pierre Shale-Smoky Hill Chalk contact. This tooth provides evidence of a nearly continuous occurrence of Rhinobatos from the Albian Kiowa Shale through the Lower Campanian Smoky Hill Chalk.

Right: A second, slightly larger Rhinobatos incertus tooth (VP-16441) recovered from the same sample.

Everhart, M. J. 2005. New stratigraphic records (Albian-Coniacian) of the guitarfish, Rhinobatos incertus (Chondrichthyes; Rajiformes), from the Cretaceous of central and western Kansas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 25(Supplement to 3): 55A.

Guitarfish (Rhinobatidae) are a conservative group of extant rays with worldwide distribution and a fossil record that extends back to the Late Jurassic of Europe. Modern representatives of the order inhabit shallow tropical and sub-tropical waters, at depths less than 200 m, and are also found in fresh water environments. The most common fossil remains are isolated teeth (less than 2 mm) although complete specimens are known. In North America, the earliest documented Rhinobatos sp. teeth were recovered from the Early Cretaceous (Lower Albian) of Texas. Rhinobatos sp. has been reported in the western interior from the Albian-Campanian of Texas, the Turonian and Santonian of Kansas, the Cenomanian of Nebraska, the Cenomanian-Turonian of New Mexico and South Dakota, and the Coniacian of Saskatchewan, Canada. Recent discoveries of Rhinobatos incertus teeth in the Cretaceous of Kansas indicate a reasonably continuous presence of the species in a variety of marine environments within the Western Interior Sea from the Upper Albian to the Lower Campanian. New Kansas records of R. incertus teeth are: 1) Kiowa Shale (Upper Albian), McPherson County; 2) Dakota Sandstone - Graneros Shale contact (Middle Cenomanian), Russell County; 3) Basal Lincoln Limestone Member, Greenhorn Limestone (Upper Cenomanian), Russell County, and; 4) Smoky Hill Chalk (Upper Coniacian), Trego County. The only previous reports from Kansas include the Blue Hill Shale Member, Carlile Shale (Middle Turonian), Jewell County, and the Smoky Hill Chalk (Middle Santonian and Lower Campanian), Gove and Logan counties. Depositional settings varied from marginal marine sandstone to near-shore shales and deeper water (< 200 m) limestone and chalk during the Kiowa-Skull Creek, Greenhorn and Niobrara Cyclothems. The earliest (Upper Albian) and smallest (< 0.5 mm) R. incertus teeth were found in a shelly lag deposit composed predominately of Turritella belviderei. Hundreds of R. incertus teeth were collected near the top of Dakota Sandstone, and the species represented nearly one-third of about 1600 selachian teeth picked from a fish tooth conglomerate in the upper Blue Hill Shale.

Superorder: Holocephali

Order: Chimaeriformes

Family: Chimaeridae (Ratfishes) -

LEFT: A modern ratfish (Chimaea monstrosa Linnaeus 1758 - also called the Rabbit fish). Although many species of these fish have been around since the Triassic, their remains are rare in the fossil record. Most chimaeroid remains are limited to teeth (tritors), fin spines and paired jaw plates because they are a cartilaginous fish like the sharks described above. Although the jaw plates (see below) appear to be bone, they are actually composed of calcified cartilage. Modern ratfishes typically use their crushing dentition to feed on hard shelled prey. The tritors are composed of hypermineralized cartilage.

LEFT: Recently discovered jaw elements (FHSM VP-16685) of a Late Cretaceous chimaeroid (ratfish). This is only the second known specimen of a ratfish from the Smoky Hill Chalk. A dorsal fin spine was discovered by H.T. Martin along Hackberry Creek (Gove County) about 1900, and was sold to the British Museum of Natural History (BMNH P10343, see Stahl, 1999, fig. 143). Ratfish have three pairs of jaw plates (vomerines, palatines and mandibulars. The specimen was identified by Ken Carpenter (Denver Museum of Natural History) in August, 2006, and also by David Parris (New Jersey Museum of Natural History) and David Cicimurri (Bob Campbell Geology Museum, Clemson University).

PUBLICATION: Cicimurri, D. J., D. C. Parris and M. J. Everhart. 2008. Partial dentition of a chimaeroid fish (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk of Kansas, USA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28(1):34–40.

Late Cretaceous: Upper Middle Turonian (90 mya) - Carlile Shale Formation

Codell Sandstone Member of the Carlile Shale Formation, Jewell County: In late 2005, I met a couple who had extensively collected the Codell Sandstone near Mankato, Kansas. This is the first comprehensive collection of sharks teeth from this member that I am aware of and will be the subject of a future paper. The pictures below do not include Ptychodus teeth, but they were also collected (mostly P. whipplei)

Blue Hill Member of the Carlile Shale Formation, Jewell County: Almost all of these very small teeth (except a few Squalicorax falcatus) were hand picked from a thin layer of "fish tooth conglomerate" under a microscope. My wife, Pam, did most of the picking. The locality that these teeth came from was discovered by Dr. Donald Hattin in 1958 (see Hattin, 1962). Dr. Hattin generously provided the material for our use. Earl Manning assisted in the identification of the teeth. A poster was presented at the 2003 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting, and a paper will follow:

Codell Sandstone Member of the Carlile Shale - Jewell County, Kansas

	NOTE: This is not a complete listing of all of the species that have been collected from this site. More to come. *Left: Two medium sized Cretoxyrhina mantelli* teeth from the Codell Sandstone Member of the Carlile Shale (upper Middle Turonian), Jewell County, KS. Right: Five fairly large Cretalamna appendiculata teeth, same locality as above.**
	*Left: A very large, but unfortunately broken Cretodus* sp. tooth from Jewell County (same locality as above). Right: These are the largest Scapanorhynchus raphiodon teeth that I have ever seen collected from Kansas (Same locality as above).**
	*Left: Two large Squalicorax falcatus* teeth. These large teeth are fairly common at this site. (Same locality as above) Right: A display showing the variety of sharks teeth collected from the site and displaying some smaller specimens than I have otherwise shown.**
	*Left: A larger view of the Cretoxyrhina mantelli* tooth shown above. Right: Another nicely preserved Cretalamna appendiculata tooth.**
	*Left: A large Ptychodus whipplei* tooth, with a broken root. Right: A rare but nicely preserved example of Ptychodus latissimus (Private collection). Root is missing.**
	*Left: Two Meristodonoides sp.* (formerly Hybodus sp.) teeth from the Codell Sandstone of Jewell County (FHSM VP-17582 and VP17583; See Everhart, 2011). Right: An assortment of Rhinobatos incertae teeth, including FHSM VP-16261 and VP-16262 from the Codell Sandstone of Jewell County, Kansas (See Everhart 2007).**
	Left: The only known tooth of Polyacrodus illingsworthi ever collected from Kansas was discovered in the Codell Sandstone (Carlile Formation) of Smith County in 2011. Polyacrodus is a hybodont shark, similar to Meristodonoides above. Collected by Bob Levin. Right: The same locality produced three teeth of Johnlongia parvidens (FHSM VP-17973, VP-17974 and VP-17975), a small lamniform shark. The scale bar for the larger teeth is 2 mm; for the small tooth, the scale bar is 1 mm.

Blue Hill Member of the Carlile Shale Formation (Middle Turonian)

Everhart, M. J., P. Everhart, E. M. Manning, and D. E. Hattin. 2003. A Middle Turonian marine fish fauna from the Upper Blue Hill Shale Member, Carlile Shale, of north central Kansas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volume 23 (Supplement to Number 3): 49A.(Abstract) (Picture 1)A diverse piscine fauna is reported for the first time from the Late Cretaceous Carlile Shale of Kansas. The relatively shallow (<100 m) marine assemblage derives from a thin (1-3 cm) fish-tooth conglomerate which lies 3-4 m below the top of the formation near Lovewell Reservoir in Jewell County, and accumulated during the late Middle Turonian regressive deposition in the Greenhorn Sequence. In contrast to larger material from transgressive lag faunas at the bases of sequences, the Lovewell fauna consists mostly of very small material (teeth, dermal denticles, vertebrae, and scales), suggesting winnowing by weak, intermittent currents. Due to size sorting for smaller particles, and the presence of a nearby nursery ground, teeth of juvenile individuals are unusually well represented. The fauna consists of 17 taxa (first records for Kansas are marked with an asterisk): 7 sharks (Ptychodus whipplei, *Chiloscyllium greeni, *Cantioscyllium d. decipiens, Otodus appendiculatus, Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon, Squalicorax falcatus, and *Scyliorhinus sp.); 4 rays (*Rhinobatos incertus, *Ptychotrygon triangularis, *Ischyrhiza mira schneideri, and *Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi); and 6 bony fish (Hadrodus priscus, Pachyrhizodus minimus?, Xiphactinus a. audax, *a small unidentified albulid, Enchodus gladiolus and E. petrosus). As is found in many Late Cretaceous assemblages of marine shallow-water fishes, Scapanorhynchus is the most abundant shark and Enchodus petrosus is the most abundant of the bony fish. Both occur in far greater numbers than recorded in the younger, deeper water fauna of the Niobrara Chalk. Several elements of the fauna, however, do indicate a nearby deep-marine habitat (Ptychodus, Chiloscyllium, Otodus and Scyliorhinus). The rare albulid teeth may evince a small estuarine component, but neither freshwater nor terrestrial vertebrate remains are represented. This Kansas fish fauna closely resembles that from the Carlile of SW South Dakota, but less closely resembles that from the Carlile of NE South Dakota. The Lovewell fauna suggests a relatively shallow marine environment located far from the eastern shore of the Western Interior Sea.

LEFT: A small fragment of the "Fish Tooth Conglomerate" of Hattin (1962), rediscovered in 2002 by Mike and Pam Everhart.

Cretodus crassidens - Large lamniform shark

LEFT: These are Cretodus crassidens teeth in lingual view that we collected on June 6, 2010. The arrangement is completely artificial, based only on decreasing size toward the back of the shark's mouth, but the fact that several of the smaller teeth are leaning different directions suggests that we have teeth from opposing jaws (upper / lower or right / left). A complete upper and lower jaw set would look something like this for Cretoxyrhina mantelli.
RIGHT: A close-up of one of the larger anterior teeth from this specimen. This shark would have been comparable in size and feeding behavior to a modern Great white, or to a Cretoxyrhina mantelli from the Smoky Hill Chalk.

Cretalamna appendiculatus

Cretalamna appendiculatus, Jewell Co., KS. Occur rarely in the fish tooth conglomerate, but are more common elsewhere..

Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon - Goblin Shark

Left: Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon - a few of the hundreds of teeth collected of this species found in the "Fish tooth Conglomerate."
Right: This picture shows the contrast in size between the largest Scapanorhynchus tooth and some of the smallest.

Left: A large (for this collection) and nearly perfect Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon anterior tooth.
Right: A symphysial tooth missing part of one accessory cusp.

Left: This is the largest Scapanorhynchus tooth (FHSM VP-17712) I've ever collected and one of the best to come from the Blue Hill Shale (Mitchell County, Kansas).

Squalicorax falcatus - Crow shark

Left: Squalicorax falcatus - one of the largest teeth found during the study.
Right: This picture shows the contrast in size between the largest tooth and some of the smallest of the Squalicorax collection.

Left: Squalicorax falcatus - A posterior tooth.
Right: Squalicorax falcatus - A symphysial tooth

Scyliorhinus sp. (Cat Shark)

LEFT AND RIGHT: Lateral teeth of Johnlongia sp., Jewell Co., KS. Rare and very small.

Chiloscyllium greeni - Bamboo shark

Chiloscyllium greeni, Jewell Co., KS. These teeth are very small (1 mm) and quite rare.

Cantioscyllium d. decipiens

Although we have found Cantioscyllium teeth in the matrix, they are very rare and in poor condition. (See below)

Ptychodus whipplei - Pavement toothed or crusher shark

Left: Ptychodus whipplei, - One of the few complete ptychodontid teeth recovered during the study. All were small and most were broken. Jewell Co., KS.
Right: A second P. whipplei lateral tooth from the same site.

Lonchidion sp. babulskii

Left: Lonchidion sp. cf. L. babulskii - A single tooth, in matrix and after removal. The roots are typically poorly preserved on these teeth. Jewell Co., KS.
Right: The three specimens recovered during the study.

Rhinobatos incertus - Guitar fish

Left: Rhinobatos incertus, - There were hundreds of these ''grain of sand"-sized ray teeth recovered during the study. This one is a male "breeding phase" tooth. Jewell Co., KS.
Right: Four Rhinobatos incertus; note the wear on the tooth at upper left. (see Everhart, 2007)

Right: A whole herd of rhinos... Rhinobatos that is. Part of the several hundred teeth found in the samples from this site. (see Everhart, 2007)
Left: Mid-dorsal scales of Rhinobatos incertus.

Ptychotrygon triangularis - Sclerorhynchid sawfish

Left: Ptychotrygon triangularis tooth, a sclerorhynchid sawfish. Jewell Co., KS.
Right: Rostral denticles of Ptychotrygon triangularis (Note: these denticles are sometimes mis-identified as the teeth of Cretomanta.)

Ischyrhiza mira schneideri: Sclerorhynchid sawfish

Left: Ischyrhiza mira schneideri, three views, , a sclerorhynchid sawfish. Jewell Co., KS.
Right: A white Ischyrhiza mira schneideri tooth in matrix. This one was located in a burrow structure and was the only found in this color. Jewell Co., KS.

Left: A rostral denticle of Ischyrhiza mira schneideri, a sclerorhynchid sawfish. Jewell Co., KS.
Right: The base of another rostral denticle.

Brachyrhizodus (Pseudohypolophus) mcnultyi - Primitive eagle ray (Mid-dorsal scales only)

Left: Mid dorsal-scales of Brachyrhizodus (Pseudohypolophus) mcnultyi.
Right: We are still looking for the teeth at the Lovewell site, but they have been found in the Dakota Sandstone and the Kiowa Shale.

Upper Cretaceous - Lower Turonian: Fairport Chalk, Southern Ellis County:

Left: Several Cretoxyrhina mantelli teeth collected from a roadside exposure in southern Ellis County. Note that the oddly-shaped tooth at the far left (arrow) is a symphysial.
Right: Cretalamna appendiculata in lingual view.

Left: Although I had initially identified this tooth as Scapanorhynchus raphiodon, Mikael Siverson (pers. comm., 01/2007) believes that it is actually Dallasiella willistoni Cappetta and Case (1999)
Right: Same as above. I had initially identified this tooth as Scapanorhynchus raphiodon, but Mikael Siverson (pers. comm., 01/2007) believes that it is actually Dallasiella willistoni Cappetta and Case (1999).

Left: Damaged Johnlongia parvidens tooth (FHSM VP-15721) in labial and lingual views, collected by Keith Ewell from the basal Fairport Chalk in Ellis County in 2004. Cleaned and photographed in 2011.
Right: FHSM VP-) Tooth of a newly described species (Telodontaspis agassizensis - Underwood and Cumbaa 2010), collected by Keith Ewell from the basal Fairport Chalk in southern Ellis County in 2004.

Left: Squalicorax sp. are the most common shark teeth found in the Fairport Chalk. The species include S. falcatus, S. curvatus and S. volgensis.
Right: Squalicorax sp. in lingual view from the Fairport Chalk.

Left: Ptychodus mammillaris medial tooth - FHSM VP-15284, from the lower Fairport Chalk member, Carlile Shale, (Lower Turonian), Ellis Co., KS  (See Everhart and Darnell, 2004).
Right: Ptychodus mammillaris teeth collected by Keith Ewell.

Upper Cretaceous - Lower Turonian: Fairport Chalk, western Russell County:

Left: A variety of Late Cretaceous shark teeth collected from an exposure of the Fairport Chalk, about 20 feet above the Fencepost Limestone in western Russell County, KS. The tooth in the square box is a juvenile Cardabiodon sp. (Larger photo HERE) and represents the upper occurrence of the genus in Kansas (kudos to Mikael Siverson (pers. comm. 01/2008) for recognizing this tooth. The large "lump" at upper right in the picture is a badly weathered Cretoxyrhina mantelli (?) tooth. Note that the teeth marked as "???" are possibly an unidentified species of Squalicorax (see detail below left).
Right: A variety of shark teeth collected one week later from the same locality as above. This collection includes a crusher shark tooth (Ptychodus anonymus).

Left: Detail of center tooth in bottom row above. This tooth is only weakly serrated and does not have the typical serrated edge found on most Squalicorax teeth.
Right: Detail of two teeth from the group photo, above left. At near right is a tooth of Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon; a far right is a similar-sized, but previously mis-identified tooth from Cardabiodon sp. (pers. comm. Mikael Siverson, 01/2008). Additional views HERE.

Upper Cretaceous - Lower middle Turonian - top of the Pfeifer Shale Member of the Greenhorn Limestone Formation:

Left: FHSM VP-17141 - A nearly perfect Cardabiodon sp. tooth that I collected in July, 2007 from the upper 1 meter of the Pfeifer Shale Member of the Greenhorn Limestone (early Middle Turonian) south of Wilson Lake in Russell County, KS.
RIGHT: A nearly perfect, small Cretoxyrhina mantelli anterior tooth from the Pfeifer Shale, 0.5 m below the Fencepost Limestone layer in Russell County. I collected this tooth in 2009, across the road from the VP-17141 specimen at left.

Left: The only specimen of associated Ptychodus mammillaris teeth (FHSM VP-17989) that I am aware of from North America. The teeth were collected by Michael Urban from the upper Pfeifer Shale of Russell County. The specimen was generously donated by Michael Urban, and is currently being described for publication.
Right: Detailed views of two of the teeth of FHSM VP-17989.

Upper Cretaceous - Upper Cenomanian: Base of Lincoln Limestone Member of the Greenhorn Limestone Formation:

Locality #1: Southeastern Lincoln County.

Left: A quick roadside collection by Keith Ewell from just above the contact of the Lincoln Limestone with the Graneros Shale Formation in June, 2005. The two large teeth, center of the top row are Ptychodus whipplei; the two large teeth, center of bottom row, are Cretoxyrhina mantelli; and the two teeth at the right end of the top and bottom rows are Squalicorax falcatus.
Right: More Cretoxyrhina mantelli teeth. Note that the tooth at top left in this picture was recently re-identified as Cardabiodon sp. by Mikael Siverson (see below right).

Left: Cardabiodon sp. (FHSM VP-15827) tooth collected from the basal Greenhorn Limestone of Lincoln County, KS, by Keith Ewell in June, 2005. Cardabiodon is a new genus of lamniform shark named recently by Mikael Siverson from a specimen found in Australia. More recently, Siverson and Lindgren described Cardabiodon from the Carlile Shale of Montana. These teeth were the first recognized occurrences of the genus in Kansas.
Right: Cardabiodon sp. (FHSM VP-15828) collected from the basal Greenhorn Limestone of Lincoln County, KS, by Keith Ewell in 2003.

Left: FHSM VP-15826 - a badly weathered anterior tooth of Cardabiodon sp. from the basal Lincoln Limestone, Lincoln Co., KS.

Left: This specimen (FHSM VP-425) of 40+ associated teeth, calcified cartilage and dermal denticles was collected from Russell County in 1982 and originally identified as Cretoxyrhina mantelli. It has since been re-identified as Cardabiodon sp. (Siverson, pers. comm.). VP-15827 and VP-15828 are shown for comparison.
Right: The reverse side of the FHSM VP-425 specimen showing the closely packed teeth.

Left: Nine Ptychodus whipplei teeth from the base of the Lincoln Limestone Member of the Greenhorn Limestone Formation.
Right: Three Squalicorax falcatus teeth from the base of the Lincoln Limestone, Lincoln County, KS. (upper Middle Cenomanian)

Locality #2: Eastern Russell County

Left: The teeth of three shark species from a lag deposit at the base of the Lincoln Limestone Mbr. of the Greenhorn Limestone Fm. - Left to right: Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Squalicorax falcatus and Ptychodus decurrens. Collection by Keith Ewell / Mike Everhart. (upper Middle Cenomanian)
Right: Closer view of the largest Ptychodus decurrens (?) in the group photo at left. A smaller Ptychodus tooth is pictured HERE.

Left: Three views of the large Cretoxyrhina mantelli anterior tooth in the picture above. <GHLN12>
Right: Three views of a large and nicely preserved Cretoxyrhina mantelli tooth that I collected in May, 2004.

Left: I had originally identified this group of teeth teeth collected from the lower Greenhorn by Keith Ewell as as Carcharias sp., but Siverson (pers. comm. 01/2008) thinks that the one at top left is Protolamna (see below) and the one at lower left looks very similar to Roulletia bureaui Vullo, et al. 2007, a new species named from the Cenomanian-Turonian of France. Larger pictures are HERE.
Right: A single Protolamna sp. tooth in lingual and labial views. Additional views HERE

Left: A exceptionally well preserved anterior tooth of Squalicorax falcatus in labial and lingual view (about 9 mm).

Right: Two of the larger Squalicorax falcatus (?) teeth found at the site. <GHLN07>

Left: Labial and lingual views of a posterior Squalicorax falcatus tooth that has been damaged by the impact of another, apparently larger Squalicorax tooth. Length of the tooth is about 10 mm. A face bite by another shark or some other dental mishap?
Right: A single shark vertebra still in the matrix. Although shark vertebrae are fairly common in the basal Greenhorn, this is one of the largest we found.

Far left: Two recently discovered (11/2003) teeth of Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon from the basal Greenhorn. Photos by K. Ewell.
Left: A small tooth (9 mm) that is probably a symphysial tooth of Cretoxyrhina or Cretalamna. Photo by K. Ewell.

Right: Lingual view of a small (10 mm) Cretalamna appendiculata tooth (Otodus appendiculatus) from the basal Greenhorn. Photo by Keith Ewell.

Left: A group of teeth (FHSM VP-12194) from the basal Greenhorn (Lincoln Lmst.) of southwestern Russell County, identified by Shimada as Odontaspis saskatchewanensis.
Right: A single "Odontaspis saskatchewanensis" tooth (FHSM VP-12378) still embedded in the matrix of the basal Lincoln Limestone.

Based on current work that I am doing with the Late Cretaceous shark fauna in Kansas, I believe that Odontaspis saskatchewanensis may a junior synonym of Johnlongia parvidens.

Location #3 - Eastern Republic County: The Republic County Historical Museum in Belleville, Kansas, has a display which includes many shark teeth collected by a local landowner and donated to the museum.

LEFT: Six views of a very large Ptychodus occidentalis tooth collected from the basal Lincoln Member of the Greenhorn Limestone in eastern Republic County. A cast of this tooth is curated at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History as FHSM VP-17244.
RIGHT: A slightly smaller Ptychodus occidentalis tooth collected in eastern Republic County. From the matrix that was still attached to this tooth, it is possible that it occurred at a somewhat lower (earlier) level in the upper Dakota Sandstone. A cast of this tooth is curated at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History as FHSM VP-17245.

LEFT: A collection of sharks teeth, including the two Ptychodus occidentalis teeth (above) in the Republic County Historical Society Museum in Belleville, Kansas. The collection was donated to the museum by Wes Huncovsky, a local landowner and consists mostly of Cretoxyrhina mantelli and includes Cretalamna appendiculata, Squalicorax falcatus and possibly Scapanorhynchus raphiodon. Besides the larger P. occidentalis teeth, it appears that P. whipplei and P. decurrens are also present.

Upper Cretaceous - Middle Cenomanian: Top of the Dakota Sandstone Formation:

Locality: Southeastern Russell County.

Everhart, M. J., P. A. Everhart and K. Ewell. 2004. A marine ichthyofauna from the Upper Dakota Sandstone (Late Cretaceous). Abstracts of oral presentations and posters, Joint Annual Meeting of the Kansas and Missouri Academies of Science, p. 48.

ABSTRACT:

The Dakota Sandstone in Kansas is composed of mudstones and channel sandstone lenses deposited at the mouth of a river flowing into the Western Interior Sea from the northeast during Middle Cenomanian time. The formation is well known for beautifully preserved impressions of deciduous leaves, but has an otherwise poor record for vertebrate remains. A marine ichthyofauna is reported here for the first time from the Upper Dakota Sandstone near Wilson Lake in eastern Russell County. The interbedded sandstones and shales exposed at this locality represent the transition from non-marine, deltaic deposits to a shallow-water, marine environment at the beginning of the Greenhorn Transgression. The micro- and macro-vertebrate faunal assemblage is derived from a two layers of poorly cemented sand within 6 m of the contact with the Graneros Shale. To date, the Wilson Lake fauna consists of 20 taxa: 7 sharks (Hybodus sp., “Polyacrodus” sp., Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Cretalamna appendiculata, Carcharias amonensis, Cretodus semiplicatus, and Squalicorax falcatus); 6 rays (Rhinobatos incertus, Pseudohypolophus mcnultyi, Chiloscyllium greeni, Onchopristis dunklei, Ptychotrygon sp., and “Cretomanta canadensis”); and 7 bony fish (“Coelodus” sp., Hadrodus sp., Pachyamia sp., Lepidotes sp., Enchodus sp., Xiphactinus audax, and Protosphyraena bentonianum). The teeth of Carcharias and Rhinobatos are the most abundant of the sharks and rays, and Enchodus sp. is the most abundant bony fish. The species represented in the Wilson Lake fauna suggest a shallow marine environment located on the edge of a river delta near the eastern shore of the Western Interior Sea.

Left: The central cusp of a Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) tooth (FHSM VP-17582).
Right: Seven small Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) teeth. These teeth are fairly common (over 300 specimens) in the samples containing the smaller teeth, and rare in the samples containing the larger teeth. .

Left: Posterior Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) tooth.
Right: Well polished fragment of a Hybodus sp. dorsal fin spine (FHSM V{-17581) showing the distinctive, alternating pattern of the barbs.

Left: A medial tooth of Ptychodus occidentalis. NOTE: Both of these teeth were previously identified as Ptychodus decurrens. Further comparisons with Ptychodus occidentalis teeth (above) convinced me that the ID should be changed.
Right: Another Ptychodus occidentalis. This species is one of the first ptychodontids in the fossil record, and is the only species found so far in the Dakota Sandstone. P. occidentalis is fairly common in Cenomanian deposits, but its range does not extend into the Turonian of Kansas.

Left: A typical Carcharias amonensis tooth (Scale = mm)
Right: Carcharias amonensis - One of the first shark teeth I found when we discovered the tooth and bone conglomerate near the the top of the Dakota Sandstone. The tooth is damaged by weathering and gypsum intrusion.

Left: A much larger collection of Carcharias amonensis teeth.
Right: More Carcharias amonensis teeth. This the most common species at the site.

Left: Carcharias tenuiplicatus - a rare species at the Upper Dakota site.
Right: Another, smaller Carcharias tenuiplicatus tooth.

Left: Five views of a large Cretodus semiplicatus
Right: Another, very large C. semiplicatus tooth found by Keith Ewell. The tooth measures about 4 cm across the base.

Left: Two medium sized Cretoxyrhina mantelli teeth.
Right: Five teeth of Cretalamna appendiculata.

Left: Assorted Squalicorax falcatus teeth
Right: S. falcatus teeth. Squalicorax is the second most common species found among the larger teeth, after Odontaspis amonensis.

Left: A close-up of a well preserved anterior tooth of Squalicorax falcatus.
Right: A posterior tooth of Squalicorax. Note the lack of serrations on this tooth and some of the teeth shown above. This may be S. curvatus, not S. falcatus.

Left: A rostral denticle of Onchopristis dunklei (sawfish).
Right: A small, worn tooth of Onchopristis dunklei.

Left: A juvenile tooth of Chiloscyllium greeni., a bamboo shark.
Right: A larger, adult tooth of C. greeni.

Primitive Eagle ray:
Left: A Pseudohypolophus mcnultyi tooth.

Right: A dermal denticle of Pseudohypolophus mcnultyi (?).

Left: The first Rhinobatos incertus (Guitar fish) tooth found in the Upper Dakota (still in the matrix).
Right: Four Rhinobatos teeth. Over a hundred teeth of this species have been collected to date from the Dakota Sandstone. Rhinobatos is the second most common species after Odontaspis among the smaller teeth. (see Everhart, 2007)

Left: A very small tooth of the sclerorhynchid ray, Ptychotrygon cf. slaughteri.
Right: Another small, worn tooth of Ptychotrygon cf. slaughteri.

LEFT: A modern, freshwater sting ray (potamotrygonid), Potamotrygon motoro from Uruguay. (Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kansas).

LEFT: An antero-lateral tooth (FHSM VP-17589) of the extinct Carpet shark, Orectoloboides sp., collected in 2003 but not identified until 2010.
RIGHT: An anterior tooth (FHSM VP-17590) of the extinct Carpet shark, Orectoloboides sp., collected in 2003 but not identified until 2010.

The two teeth shown above are the only specimens of this shark from the U. S.. Three other Orectoloboides teeth were described earlier in 2010 by Underwood and Cumbaa from Saskatchewan, Canada. See Bourdon, J. and Everhart, M.J. 2010. Occurrence of the extinct Carpet shark, Orectoloboides, in the Dakota Formation (Late Cretaceous; Middle Cenomanian) of Kansas . Kansas Academy of Science, Transactions 113(3-4):237-242.

Upper Early Cretaceous: Middle Albian (110 mya)
Kiowa Shale. This collection was made from samples collected in a shale quarry in McPherson County. The locality was first examined by Scott (1970) in his paper on the Kiowa Shale in Kansas. The site had originally been collected in the late 1990s by Joe Beamon (FHSU) and was the subject of his Masters thesis (1999). Shawn Hamm and I collected additional material from the quarry in 2003 and my collecting has continued into 2004. Many of the teeth were surface collected from a pyritized sandstone layer in the top one third of the shale exposed in the quarry. Collecting was mostly done by laying on our stomachs in the hot sun, looking for the tiny teeth. Later collections were made from the Turritella shell coquina that is also found on the site.

Hybodus sp.

LEFT and RIGHT: Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) teeth . These isolated teeth are fairly common in the Kiowa Shale. McPherson Co., KS.

Polyacrodus sp.

Left: A single, broken Polyacrodus tooth that I found in a glauconite layer above the original collecting site.
Right: Polyacrodus sp.: Another tooth fragment the main collecting area: Kiowa Shale, (Albian), Buildex Quarry, McPherson Co., KS. Since these were collected, several others have been found.

See: Everhart, M. J. 2004. First record of the hybodont shark genus, “Polyacrodus” sp., (Chondrichthyes; Polyacrodontidae) from the Kiowa Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of McPherson County, Kansas. Kansas Academy of Science, Transactions 107(1/2): 39-43.

Odontaspis (Carcharias) amonensis

Odontaspis (Carcharias) amonensis, McPherson Co., KS. These were the second most common teeth found on the site.

Leptostyrax macrorhiza

Cope (1875, p. 297, pl. XLII) named the first teeth of Leptostyrax macrorhiza, although he called them Lamna macrorhiza. He noted that his four specimens were collected in "Ellis County" (more likely they were collected in Ellsworth or McPherson counties, where the Kiowa Formation crops out). Williston (1900) noted that the genus was not Lamna and coined the name Leptostyrax. Williston's species name (bicuspidatus) for a tooth from the Kiowa Formation of Kiowa County, however, is a junior synonym of macrorhiza and the resulting scientific name is a combination of Williston's genus name and Cope's species name.
LEFT: Three views of Leptostyrax macrorhiza, McPherson Co., KS. These are the most common shark teeth found on the site.

RIGHT: Labial and lingual views of small Leptostyrax macrorhiza tooth from the Buildex shale quarry, McPherson Co., KS.

LEFT: Central cusp of an anterior tooth of Leptostyrax macrorhiza, McPherson Co., KS.
RIGHT: An anterior tooth of Leptostyrax "bicuspidatus" Williston (FHSM VP-17036) that I found in Kiowa County, July 14, 2006, about 6 m above the base of the Kiowa Shale. This tooth is about 3 cm tall, much larger than any that we recovered from the Buildex shale quarry in McPherson County.
Click HERE for an image of a slightly smaller tooth (26 mm, type specimen?) reported by Williston in 1900 from the Kiowa Shale of McPherson County.

LEFT: An associated set of Leptostyrax teeth (KUVP 16350) from the Kiowa Shale of Clark County. Preservation of teeth in the shale is normally poor, as is illustrated by this specimen, and the one at right.
RIGHT: Four associated Leptostyrax teeth (KUVP 7587) from the Kiowa Shale of Clark County.

LEFT: Three nice Leptostyrax macrorhiza teeth from the Kiowa Formation in Ellsworth County, Kansas. These were collected by the Robert Reves family in 2012. Photograph by Robert Reves.
RIGHT: A large Leptostyrax macrorhiza tooth given to me by the Robert Reves family in lingual, labial and lateral views. The tooth was collected from the Kiowa Shale in Ellsworth County, Kansas, in 2012.

LEFT: A very large lamnid shark vertebra from the Kiowa Shale of Clark County. The vertebra is about 13 cm in diameter and 4-6 cm thick. The vertebra was described by Shimada (1997d), but is currently unidentified due to our lack of knowledge and similar specimens of Early Cretaceous sharks.
RIGHT: Two much smaller shark vertebrae (KUVP 119213 and KUVP 119214), also from the Kiowa Shale of Clark County.

Onchopristis dunklei: An early sawfish with barbed rostral denticles.

Left: Onchopristis dunklei tooth; one of two collected originally. Five teeth were collected in 2004 from a sample of Turritella coquina.
Right: Tip of a rostral denticle, with the characteristic barb, McPherson Co., KS.

Far right: The base of a rostral denticle, with barb.

Brachyrhizodus (Pseudohypolophus) mcnultyi - Primitive eagle ray

Left: Two Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi teeth, McPherson Co., KS.
Right: Single tooth. These ray teeth occurred fairly commonly in the exposure.

Left: Most of the Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi teeth collected in 2003 from the locality; McPherson Co., KS.
Right: A mid-dorsal denticle of B. mcnultyi.

Left: Two Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi collected in 2004 from a coquina made up primarily of Turritella snail shells in the Kiowa Shale.
Right: A mid-dorsal denticle of Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi collected from a coquina made up primarily of Turritella snail shells.

Rhinobatos incertus - Guitar fish

Left: Three very small Rhinobatos incertus teeth collected by Pam Everhart from a shell coquina made up primarily of Turritella snails. These teeth represent the earliest known record of Rhinobatos in Kansas. (see Everhart, 2007)
RIGHT: This large (almost 1.5 mm across the crown) rhinobatoid tooth (VP-16371) came from the same sample but is probably not Rhinobatos (pers. comm. David Cicimurri, 2007), but in that case, what is it? It is possibly a new and undescribed species of guitar fish from the upper Early Cretaceous of Kansas. Another specimen (FHSM VP-17035) from the basal Kiowa Shale of Kiowa County is shown HERE.

LEFT: Tiny, mid-dorsal denticles from small rays, most likely Rhinobatos.
RIGHT: An artist's view of what Rhinobatos incertus may have looked like.

Lower Permian - Chase Group (280 mya) - Morris County, Kansas: This specimen was collected from a roadside exposure in August, 2002. The fin spines were assembled from numerous fragments that were recovered by screening the outwash material from the slope. My wife, Pam, did most of the handpicking with a binocular microscope and found all of the small teeth and scales that were associated with the specimen. See the Ctenacanthus web page with more pictures HERE.

Ctenacanthus amblyxiphias Cope 1891-

Left: Pair of dorsal fin spines, and calcified cartilage denticles of Ctenacanthus amblyxiphias Cope, Morris Co., KS. (FHSM VP-15012).
Right: Cladodus tooth fragments found in association with Ctenacanthus remains, Morris Co., KS.

Left: Fig. 12, from Hansen (1986), used with permission.
Right: Teeth of a small, and rare, cladodont shark, "Zangerlodus williamsi" (unpublished species name; Hansen, 1986), Morris Co., KS. ID by Wayne Itano (9/2003). (Scan courtesy of Wayne Itano) (Click here for larger pic)

Left: Figure 18, from Hansen (1986); used with permission.
Right: "Maiseyodus johnsoni" tooth (unpublished species name; Hansen, 1986), Morris Co., KS. ID by Wayne Itano (9/2003). (Scan courtesy of Wayne Itano)

Lower Permian - Council Grove Group (285 mya) - Wabaunsee County, Kansas: These teeth were found by a friend of mine who generously allowed me to prepare and photograph them. The specimens are from three productive sites and are shown in more detail HERE.

Cladodus occidentalis Leidy 1859

Left: Cladodus occidentalis tooth in matrix labial view.
Right: Agassizodus corrugatus tooth - Lower Permian of Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

Left: Smaller Cladodus occidentalis tooth (upper row, left to right): lingual, labial, and occlusal; (bottom row, left to right): lingual, lateral, lateral, basal.
Right: Two Petalodus teeth, Lower Permian of Geary Co., KS.

Click HERE to see more Permian shark teeth.

For more historical information on the discoveries of Kansas sharks, see also:

John Leidy: First report of shark remains from the "Paleozoic" rocks of Kansas discovered by Meek and Hayden.

Professor Benjamin Mudge - Early reports of Kansas sharks from both eastern and western Kansas.

Doctor George M. Sternberg - Dr. Sternberg made some of the first discoveries of Late Cretaceous sharks in western Kansas

Doctor John H. Janeway - Cope named a species of Ptychodontid shark after him, but the name is no longer used.

Suggested References:

Beamon, J. C. 1999. Depositional environment and fossil biota of a thin clastic unit of the Kiowa Formation, Lower Cretaceous (Albian), McPherson County, Kansas. Unpublished MS Thesis, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS, 97 p.

Beeson, E. and K. Shimada. 2004. Vertebrates from a unique bonebed of the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk, western Kansas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24 (Supplement to Number 3): 37A.

Bourdon, J. and Everhart, M.J. 2010. Occurrence of the extinct Carpet shark, Orectoloboides, in the Dakota Formation (Late Cretaceous; Middle Cenomanian) of Kansas . Kansas Academy of Science, Transactions 113(3-4):237-242.

Bourdon, J. and Everhart, M.J. 2011. Analysis of an associated Cretoxyrhina mantelli dentition from the Late Cretaceous (Smoky Hill Chalk, Late Coniacian) of western Kansas . Kansas Academy of Science, Transactions 114(1-2):15-32.

Caggiano, T. and M. J. Everhart, 2003. A rare occurrence of the Late Cretaceous ptychodontid shark, Ptychodus polygyrus Agassiz 1839, in the Smoky Hill Chalk Member (Niobrara Formation) of western Kansas. Kansas Acad. Science Abstracts, 22:28.

Cappetta, H., 1973. Selachians from the Carlile Shale (Turonian) of South Dakota. Jour. Paleon. 47(3):504-514.

Cappetta, H. and Case, G. R., 1987. Chondrichthyes II - Mesozoic and Cenozoic Elasmobranchii. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart and New York. 193 p., 148 fig.

Cappetta, H. and Case, G. R., 1999. Additions aux faunes de selaciens du Cretace du Texas (Albien superier-Campanian). Paleo Ichthyologica 9:5-111, 8 fig. 1 table, 30 pls.

Case, G. R. 1965. An occurrence of the sawfish, Onchopristis dunklei, in the Upper Cretaceous of Minnesota. Journal, Minnesota Academy of Science, 32(3):183.

Case, G. R., T. T. Tokaryk and D. Baird. 1990. Selachians from the Niobrara Formation of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) of Carrot River, Saskatchewan, Canada. Can. J. Earth Sci. 27:1085-1094.

Chorn, J. and D. Frailey, 1978. A large chondrichthyan spine, Physonemus mirabilis, from the Upper Pennsylvanian of Kansas, U.S.A. N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Mh., (7):385-392, 1 fig.

Cicimurri, D., 2000. Early Cretaceous Elasmobranchs from the Newcastle Sandstone (Albian) of Crook County, Wyoming. The Mountain Geologist, 37(3):101-107.

Cicimurri, D., 2001. Fossil Selachians from the Belle Fourche Shale (Cretaceous, Cenomanian) Black Hills Region of South Dakota and Wyoming. The Mountain Geologist, 38(4):181-192.

Cicimurri, D., 2002. Chondrichthyes from the upper part of the Minnelusa Formation (Middle Pennsylvanian: Desmoinesian), Meade County, South Dakota. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, 81:81-92.

Cicimurri, D., 200_. Cretaceous elasmobranchs of the Greenhorn Formation (Middle Cenomanian-Middle Turonian), western South Dakota. 6th Fossil Conference Proceedings volume. :27-43.

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Donald Hattin (Indiana University) provided the Blue Hill shark tooth conglomerate for our use. Richard Zakrzewski provided access to the collections at the Sternberg Museum. Larry Martin and Desui Miao provided access to the collections of the University of Kansas. I have had many educational discussions with Kenshu Shimada (DePaul University) regarding Cretaceous sharks. Shawn Hamm (Wichita State University) collected some of the specimens from the Smoky Hill Chalk and got me interested in the Kiowa Shale site (Early Cretaceous - Albian) where the McPherson County specimens were found. Wayne Itano provided timely identifications on the early Permian specimens and provided reference material. My discussions with John Maisey (AMNH) have provided insights into Permian sharks. Bill May (Sam Noble Museum, Norman, OK) provide me with reference material about the Permian specimens. Jim Bourdon (Elasmo.com), Tom Caggiano, and Steve Balliet assisted in field work over the last dozen or so years, and generously shared their material. Robert Purdy (Smithsonian) provided information on specimens of teeth cited by Williston (1900). My recent association (2003) with Keith Ewell has added many new shark tooth localities (early Permian, Middle and Upper Cenomanian) and certainly has improved my knowledge of the geology and paleontology of Kansas, outside of the Smoky Hill Chalk.

	*Left: Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon* - a few of the hundreds of teeth collected of this species found in the "Fish tooth Conglomerate." Right: This picture shows the contrast in size between the largest Scapanorhynchus tooth and some of the smallest.**
	*Left: A large (for this collection) and nearly perfect Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon* anterior tooth. Right: A symphysial tooth missing part of one accessory cusp.**
	*Left: This is the largest Scapanorhynchus* tooth (FHSM VP-17712) I've ever collected and one of the best to come from the Blue Hill Shale (Mitchell County, Kansas).**

	*Left: Squalicorax falcatus* - one of the largest teeth found during the study. Right: This picture shows the contrast in size between the largest tooth and some of the smallest of the Squalicorax collection.**
	*Left: Squalicorax falcatus* - A posterior tooth. Right: Squalicorax falcatus - A symphysial tooth**

	*Left: Rhinobatos incertus,* - There were hundreds of these ''grain of sand"-sized ray teeth recovered during the study. This one is a male "breeding phase" tooth. Jewell Co., KS. Right: Four Rhinobatos incertus; note the wear on the tooth at upper left. (see Everhart, 2007)**
	*Right: A whole herd of rhinos... Rhinobatos* that is. Part of the several hundred teeth found in the samples from this site. (see Everhart, 2007)** Left: Mid-dorsal scales of Rhinobatos incertus.

	*Left: Ischyrhiza mira schneideri,* three views, , a sclerorhynchid sawfish. Jewell Co., KS. Right: A white Ischyrhiza mira schneideri tooth in matrix. This one was located in a burrow structure and was the only found in this color. Jewell Co., KS.**
	*Left: A rostral denticle of Ischyrhiza mira schneideri, a sclerorhynchid sawfish. Jewell Co., KS.* Right: The base of another rostral denticle.

	*Left: Several Cretoxyrhina mantelli* teeth collected from a roadside exposure in southern Ellis County. Note that the oddly-shaped tooth at the far left (arrow) is a symphysial. Right: Cretalamna appendiculata in lingual view.**
	Left: Although I had initially identified this tooth as Scapanorhynchus raphiodon, Mikael Siverson (pers. comm., 01/2007) believes that it is actually Dallasiella willistoni Cappetta and Case (1999) Right: Same as above. I had initially identified this tooth as Scapanorhynchus raphiodon, but Mikael Siverson (pers. comm., 01/2007) believes that it is actually Dallasiella willistoni Cappetta and Case (1999).
	*Left: Damaged Johnlongia parvidens* tooth (FHSM VP-15721) in labial and lingual views, collected by Keith Ewell from the basal Fairport Chalk in Ellis County in 2004. Cleaned and photographed in 2011. Right: FHSM VP-) Tooth of a newly described species (Telodontaspis agassizensis - Underwood and Cumbaa 2010), collected by Keith Ewell from the basal Fairport Chalk in southern Ellis County in 2004.**
	*Left: Squalicorax* sp. are the most common shark teeth found in the Fairport Chalk. The species include S. falcatus, S. curvatus and S. volgensis. Right: Squalicorax sp. in lingual view from the Fairport Chalk.**
	*Left: Ptychodus mammillaris* medial tooth - FHSM VP-15284, from the lower Fairport Chalk member, Carlile Shale, (Lower Turonian), Ellis Co., KS (See Everhart and Darnell, 2004). Right: Ptychodus mammillaris teeth collected by Keith Ewell.**

	Left: A variety of Late Cretaceous shark teeth collected from an exposure of the Fairport Chalk, about 20 feet above the Fencepost Limestone in western Russell County, KS. The tooth in the square box is a juvenile Cardabiodon sp. (Larger photo HERE) and represents the upper occurrence of the genus in Kansas (kudos to Mikael Siverson (pers. comm. 01/2008) for recognizing this tooth. The large "lump" at upper right in the picture is a badly weathered Cretoxyrhina mantelli (?) tooth. Note that the teeth marked as "???" are possibly an unidentified species of Squalicorax (see detail below left). *Right: A variety of shark teeth collected one week later from the same locality as above. This collection includes a crusher shark tooth (Ptychodus anonymus).*
	*Left: Detail of center tooth in bottom row above. This tooth is only weakly serrated and does not have the typical serrated edge found on most Squalicorax* teeth.** Right: Detail of two teeth from the group photo, above left. At near right is a tooth of Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon; a far right is a similar-sized, but previously mis-identified tooth from Cardabiodon sp. (pers. comm. Mikael Siverson, 01/2008). Additional views HERE.

	Left: FHSM VP-17141 - A nearly perfect Cardabiodon sp. tooth that I collected in July, 2007 from the upper 1 meter of the Pfeifer Shale Member of the Greenhorn Limestone (early Middle Turonian) south of Wilson Lake in Russell County, KS. RIGHT: A nearly perfect, small Cretoxyrhina mantelli anterior tooth from the Pfeifer Shale, 0.5 m below the Fencepost Limestone layer in Russell County. I collected this tooth in 2009, across the road from the VP-17141 specimen at left.
	Left: The only specimen of associated Ptychodus mammillaris teeth (FHSM VP-17989) that I am aware of from North America. The teeth were collected by Michael Urban from the upper Pfeifer Shale of Russell County. The specimen was generously donated by Michael Urban, and is currently being described for publication. Right: Detailed views of two of the teeth of FHSM VP-17989.

	Left: A quick roadside collection by Keith Ewell from just above the contact of the Lincoln Limestone with the Graneros Shale Formation in June, 2005. The two large teeth, center of the top row are Ptychodus whipplei; the two large teeth, center of bottom row, are Cretoxyrhina mantelli; and the two teeth at the right end of the top and bottom rows are Squalicorax falcatus. *Right: More Cretoxyrhina mantelli* teeth. Note that the tooth at top left in this picture was recently re-identified as Cardabiodon sp. by Mikael Siverson (see below right).**
	Left: Cardabiodon sp. (FHSM VP-15827) tooth collected from the basal Greenhorn Limestone of Lincoln County, KS, by Keith Ewell in June, 2005. Cardabiodon is a new genus of lamniform shark named recently by Mikael Siverson from a specimen found in Australia. More recently, Siverson and Lindgren described Cardabiodon from the Carlile Shale of Montana. These teeth were the first recognized occurrences of the genus in Kansas. *Right: Cardabiodon* sp. (FHSM VP-15828) collected from the basal Greenhorn Limestone of Lincoln County, KS, by Keith Ewell in 2003.**
	*Left: FHSM VP-15826 - a badly weathered anterior tooth of Cardabiodon* sp. from the basal Lincoln Limestone, Lincoln Co., KS.**
	Left: This specimen (FHSM VP-425) of 40+ associated teeth, calcified cartilage and dermal denticles was collected from Russell County in 1982 and originally identified as Cretoxyrhina mantelli. It has since been re-identified as Cardabiodon sp. (Siverson, pers. comm.). VP-15827 and VP-15828 are shown for comparison. Right: The reverse side of the FHSM VP-425 specimen showing the closely packed teeth.
	*Left: Nine Ptychodus whipplei* teeth from the base of the Lincoln Limestone Member of the Greenhorn Limestone Formation. Right: Three Squalicorax falcatus teeth from the base of the Lincoln Limestone, Lincoln County, KS. (upper Middle Cenomanian)**

	Left: The teeth of three shark species from a lag deposit at the base of the Lincoln Limestone Mbr. of the Greenhorn Limestone Fm. - Left to right: Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Squalicorax falcatus and Ptychodus decurrens. Collection by Keith Ewell / Mike Everhart. (upper Middle Cenomanian) *Right: Closer view of the largest Ptychodus decurrens* (?) in the group photo at left. A smaller Ptychodus tooth is pictured HERE.**
	*Left: Three views of the large Cretoxyrhina mantelli* anterior tooth in the picture above. <GHLN12> Right: Three views of a large and nicely preserved Cretoxyrhina mantelli tooth that I collected in May, 2004.**
	Left: I had originally identified this group of teeth teeth collected from the lower Greenhorn by Keith Ewell as as Carcharias sp., but Siverson (pers. comm. 01/2008) thinks that the one at top left is Protolamna (see below) and the one at lower left looks very similar to Roulletia bureaui Vullo, et al. 2007, a new species named from the Cenomanian-Turonian of France. Larger pictures are HERE. *Right: A single Protolamna* sp. tooth in lingual and labial views. Additional views HERE**
	*Left: A exceptionally well preserved anterior tooth of Squalicorax falcatus* in labial and lingual view (about 9 mm). Right: Two of the larger Squalicorax falcatus (?) teeth found at the site. <GHLN07>**
	Left: Labial and lingual views of a posterior Squalicorax falcatus tooth that has been damaged by the impact of another, apparently larger Squalicorax tooth. Length of the tooth is about 10 mm. A face bite by another shark or some other dental mishap? Right: A single shark vertebra still in the matrix. Although shark vertebrae are fairly common in the basal Greenhorn, this is one of the largest we found.
	*Far left: Two recently discovered (11/2003) teeth of Scapanorhynchus r. raphiodon* from the basal Greenhorn. Photos by K. Ewell. Left: A small tooth (9 mm) that is probably a symphysial tooth of Cretoxyrhina or Cretalamna. Photo by K. Ewell. Right: Lingual view of a small (10 mm) Cretalamna appendiculata tooth (Otodus appendiculatus) from the basal Greenhorn. Photo by Keith Ewell.**

	LEFT: Six views of a very large Ptychodus occidentalis tooth collected from the basal Lincoln Member of the Greenhorn Limestone in eastern Republic County. A cast of this tooth is curated at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History as FHSM VP-17244. RIGHT: A slightly smaller Ptychodus occidentalis tooth collected in eastern Republic County. From the matrix that was still attached to this tooth, it is possible that it occurred at a somewhat lower (earlier) level in the upper Dakota Sandstone. A cast of this tooth is curated at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History as FHSM VP-17245.
	LEFT: A collection of sharks teeth, including the two Ptychodus occidentalis teeth (above) in the Republic County Historical Society Museum in Belleville, Kansas. The collection was donated to the museum by Wes Huncovsky, a local landowner and consists mostly of Cretoxyrhina mantelli and includes Cretalamna appendiculata, Squalicorax falcatus and possibly Scapanorhynchus raphiodon. Besides the larger P. occidentalis teeth, it appears that P. whipplei and P. decurrens are also present.

	Left: The central cusp of a Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) tooth (FHSM VP-17582). Right: Seven small Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) teeth. These teeth are fairly common (over 300 specimens) in the samples containing the smaller teeth, and rare in the samples containing the larger teeth. .
	Left: Posterior Meristodonoides sp. (formerly Hybodus sp.) tooth. *Right: Well polished fragment of a Hybodus* sp. dorsal fin spine (FHSM V{-17581) showing the distinctive, alternating pattern of the barbs.**
	Left: A medial tooth of Ptychodus occidentalis. NOTE: Both of these teeth were previously identified as Ptychodus decurrens. Further comparisons with Ptychodus occidentalis teeth (above) convinced me that the ID should be changed. Right: Another Ptychodus occidentalis. This species is one of the first ptychodontids in the fossil record, and is the only species found so far in the Dakota Sandstone. P. occidentalis is fairly common in Cenomanian deposits, but its range does not extend into the Turonian of Kansas.
	*Left: A typical Carcharias amonensis* tooth (Scale = mm)** Right: Carcharias amonensis - One of the first shark teeth I found when we discovered the tooth and bone conglomerate near the the top of the Dakota Sandstone. The tooth is damaged by weathering and gypsum intrusion.
	*Left: A much larger collection of Carcharias amonensis* teeth. Right: More Carcharias amonensis teeth. This the most common species at the site.**
	*Left: Carcharias tenuiplicatus* - a rare species at the Upper Dakota site. Right: Another, smaller Carcharias tenuiplicatus tooth.**
	Left: Five views of a large Cretodus semiplicatus *Right: Another, very large C. semiplicatus* tooth found by Keith Ewell. The tooth measures about 4 cm across the base.**
	*Left: Two medium sized Cretoxyrhina mantelli* teeth. Right: Five teeth of Cretalamna appendiculata.**
	*Left: Assorted Squalicorax falcatus* teeth Right: S. falcatus teeth. Squalicorax is the second most common species found among the larger teeth, after Odontaspis amonensis.**
	*Left: A close-up of a well preserved anterior tooth of Squalicorax falcatus.* Right: A posterior tooth of Squalicorax. Note the lack of serrations on this tooth and some of the teeth shown above. This may be S. curvatus, not S. falcatus.
	*Left: A rostral denticle of Onchopristis dunklei* (sawfish). Right: A small, worn tooth of Onchopristis dunklei.**
	*Left: A juvenile tooth of Chiloscyllium greeni., a bamboo shark.* *Right: A larger, adult tooth of C. greeni.*
	Primitive Eagle ray: Left: A Pseudohypolophus mcnultyi tooth. Right: A dermal denticle of Pseudohypolophus mcnultyi (?).
	*Left: The first Rhinobatos incertus* (Guitar fish) tooth found in the Upper Dakota (still in the matrix).** Right: Four Rhinobatos teeth. Over a hundred teeth of this species have been collected to date from the Dakota Sandstone. Rhinobatos is the second most common species after Odontaspis among the smaller teeth. (see Everhart, 2007)
	*Left: A very small tooth of the sclerorhynchid ray, Ptychotrygon* cf. slaughteri. Right: Another small, worn tooth of Ptychotrygon cf. slaughteri.**
	*LEFT: A modern, freshwater sting ray (potamotrygonid), Potamotrygon motoro* from Uruguay. (Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kansas).**
	*LEFT: An antero-lateral tooth (FHSM VP-17589) of the extinct Carpet shark, Orectoloboides* sp., collected in 2003 but not identified until 2010. RIGHT: An anterior tooth (FHSM VP-17590) of the extinct Carpet shark, Orectoloboides sp., collected in 2003 but not identified until 2010.**

	Left: Two Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi teeth, McPherson Co., KS. Right: Single tooth. These ray teeth occurred fairly commonly in the exposure.
	Left: Most of the Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi teeth collected in 2003 from the locality; McPherson Co., KS. Right: A mid-dorsal denticle of B. mcnultyi.
	*Left: Two Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi* collected in 2004 from a coquina made up primarily of Turritella snail shells in the Kiowa Shale. Right: A mid-dorsal denticle of Brachyrhizodus mcnultyi collected from a coquina made up primarily of Turritella snail shells.**

	*Left: Pair of dorsal fin spines, and calcified cartilage denticles of Ctenacanthus amblyxiphias* Cope, Morris Co., KS. (FHSM VP-15012). Right: Cladodus tooth fragments found in association with Ctenacanthus remains, Morris Co., KS.**
	Left: Fig. 12, from Hansen (1986), used with permission. Right: Teeth of a small, and rare, cladodont shark, "Zangerlodus williamsi" (unpublished species name; Hansen, 1986), Morris Co., KS. ID by Wayne Itano (9/2003). (Scan courtesy of Wayne Itano) (Click here for larger pic)
	Left: Figure 18, from Hansen (1986); used with permission. *Right: "Maiseyodus johnsoni" tooth (unpublished species name; Hansen, 1986), Morris Co., KS. ID by Wayne Itano (9/2003). (Scan courtesy of Wayne Itano)*