Fossil Chondrichthyes from the Central Eastern Pacific Ocean and their Paleoceanographic Significance

Abstract

The study of the chondrichthyan fauna from the Angostura, Onzole, Canoa and Jama formations, in the Neogene of Bordón and Manabí basins, Ecuador, reveals the presence of 30 taxa, including the deep water shark +Chlamydoselachus landinii sp. nov. The assemblages are dominated by tropical shallow and deep water chondrichthyans, suggesting paleoenvironments associated with a short platform shelf bordering a deep margin. These assemblages are the most diverse shark and ray association known from the Tropical Central Eastern Pacific Ocean in the South American coastal basin, and provide new information on the paleoecology and paleodiversity of Neogene chondrichthyans.