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Squalicorax ("crow shark") is a genus of extinct shark known to have lived during the Cretaceous period. A 1.9-meter articluated (fully-formed) fossil skeleton of Squalicorax (S. falcatus) has been found in Kansas, evidence of its presence in the Western Interior Seaway, and large numbers of fossil teeth have been found in Europe, North Africa, and other parts of North America. From the size of its largest known teeth, it can be estimated that Squalicorax grew up to 5 meters in length.
Squalicorax was a predator, but also scavenged, as evidenced by a Squalicorax tooth found embedded in the metatarsal (foot) bone of a hadrosaur, a land dinosaur that most likely died and ended up in the water. Other food sources included turtles, mosasaurs, ichthyodectes, and other bony fishes and sea creatures.
Species include:
- Squalicorax bassanii Gemmelaro 1920
- Squalicorax curvatus Williston 1900
- Squalicorax falcatus Agassiz 1843
- Squalicorax kaupi Agassiz 1843
- Squalicorax falcatus Agassiz 1843
Squalicorax is considered to belong to the family Anacoracidae, classified by Cappetta (1987) in the Lamniformes.
Reference
- H. Cappetta, Handbook of Paleoichthyology (Gustav Fischer, 1987)
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