Ginglymostoma

Ginglymostoma is a genus of shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae. There are two members in the genus. Members of this genus eat small fish and crustaceans, and are commonly quite lethargic unless provoked. Members of this genus have the ability to suck in water in order to remove snails from their shells in a manner that can be described as 'vacuum-like'.

Ginglymostoma

Uncredited · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
GinglymostomatidaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Orectolobiformes
Life habit
nektobenthicPBDB, for Orectolobiformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Orectolobiformes

Time the record covers

At least 100 million years on record.

The record covers at least 100.5 Mya to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 106.3 Mya to 11.7 ka.

Early Cretaceous — about 2 of 137 occurrencesLate Cretaceous — about 31 of 137 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 29 of 137 occurrencesPaleoceneEocene — about 49 of 137 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 4 of 137 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 15 of 137 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 2 of 137 occurrencesPleistocene — about 5 of 137 occurrences108–105 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences105–101 Mya — about 1 occurrence101–98 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences98–94 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences94–90 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences90–87 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences87–83 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences83–80 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences80–76 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences76–72 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences72–69 Mya — about 15 occurrences69–65 Mya — about 15 occurrences65–61 Mya — about 12 occurrences61–58 Mya — about 8 occurrences58–54 Mya — about 11 occurrences54–51 Mya — about 12 occurrences51–47 Mya — about 10 occurrences47–43 Mya — about 8 occurrences43–40 Mya — about 7 occurrences40–36 Mya — about 5 occurrences36–33 Mya — about 3 occurrences29–25 Mya — about 2 occurrences25–22 Mya — about 3 occurrences22–18 Mya — about 2 occurrences18–14 Mya — about 4 occurrences14–11 Mya — about 5 occurrences11–7.2 Mya — about 3 occurrences7.2–3.6 Mya — about 2 occurrences3.6–0 Mya — about 5 occurrences100.5 Mya129 ka108 Mya0 Mya

137 occurrences of Ginglymostoma on record, most of them in the Eocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

137 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

49 formations

Matam — 15.32°N, 13.03°WMatam — 15.31°N, 13.09°WCouche II — 32.85°N, 6.63°WCouche II — 32.81°N, 6.83°WCouche II — 32.72°N, 6.78°WCouche II — 32.65°N, 6.68°WCouche III — 32.85°N, 6.63°WCouche III — 32.67°N, 6.67°WYazoo — 31.66°N, 92.90°WYazoo — 31.82°N, 92.33°WYazoo — 31.93°N, 91.94°WBermont — 27.70°N, 82.50°WMalembo — 5.34°S, 12.18°EMalembo — 5.36°S, 12.18°EUmm Himar — 21.17°N, 41.42°ELandana — 5.22°S, 12.14°ENanjemoy — 38.28°N, 77.37°WPirabas — 0.48°S, 48.17°WPirabas — 1.05°S, 47.16°WStatenville — 30.40°N, 83.00°WStatenville — 30.23°N, 82.63°WJiesia — 55.06°N, 24.37°EScotland — 13.20°N, 59.57°WCouche I — 32.72°N, 6.78°EAguja — 28.94°N, 103.37°WMishash — 30.83°N, 35.08°EAruma — 28.76°N, 43.74°EAmeki — 6.83°N, 7.08°EClinchfield — 32.91°N, 83.36°WMoodys Branch — 32.23°N, 92.15°WKemp Clay — 33.21°N, 95.92°WNew Egypt — 40.09°N, 74.55°WTuscahoma — 32.35°N, 88.68°WPungo River — 35.40°N, 76.80°W

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The named rock units Ginglymostoma has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 25 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 56 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Ginglymostoma and its relatives

Eocene

Where Ginglymostoma and its relatives were recorded in the Eocene.

Found in the same rock

2,009 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 114 sites for Ginglymostoma, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

62 references

Each of the 137 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 50 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Ginglymostoma

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Ginglymostoma cirratum · UMMZ:ummz_fish:143059

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Müller and Henle 1838