First report on a diverse Neogene cartilaginous fish fauna from Borneo (Ambug Hill, Brunei Darussalam)

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_577D027D2682
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
First report on a diverse Neogene cartilaginous fish fauna from Borneo (Ambug Hill, Brunei Darussalam)
Journal
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology
Author(s)
Kocsis L., Razak H., Briguglio A., Szabó M.
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2019
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
17
Number
10
Pages
791–819
Language
english
Abstract
The highest biodiversity of marine fishes occurs in South-east Asia in the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA). However, the fossil record of fishes is very sparse and extremely incomplete in the IAA. Here we present a diverse fossil cartilaginous fish fauna from Borneo, found in late Miocene sediments in Brunei Darussalam. This fauna provides the first insight into the types of fishes that existed in the IAA region about 6.5–8 million years ago. The chondrichthyan remains belong to 24 selachian and batoid taxa. The shark fauna is dominated by Carcharhiniformes, comprising three families with at least 12 taxa, most related to modern species: Hemigaleidae (one species), Carcharhinidae (nine) and Sphyrnidae (two). In addition, the teeth of one Lamniformes shark, the extinct giant macro-predator Otodus (Megaselachus) megalodon, are present in the fauna. The batoids are dominated by Myliobatiformes from the following families: Dasyatidae (three species), Aetobatidae (one), Myliobatidae (three), Rhinopteridae (one), while three taxa of the order Rhinopristiformes were also recovered: Pristidae (one species), and Rhinidae (two). Such diversity of fossil cartilaginous fish has never before been reported from the tropical region of South-east Asia. The dominance of the carcharhinid sharks and small rays suggests a shallow marine, coastal palaeoenvironment. The presence of the freshwater shark genus Glyphis indicates a nearby fluvial influence. Some species of the ray genera, such as Himantura or Pastinachus, have also been reported from estuaries and fresh water. The lack of some generally common Neogene taxa, such as Odontaspididae, Lamnidae and Alopidae, may be linked to such local factors and the coastal shallow-water environment.
Keywords
Late Miocene, fossil sharks, fossil batoids, Indo-Australian Archipelago, palaeobiodiversity, palaeoecology
Create date
07/01/2022 19:59
Last modification date
12/07/2024 7:03
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