Evidence of shark-on-shark trophic interactions in the Miocene of Costa Rica, Southern Central America
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/sz9r7m18Keywords:
Carcharhinidae, Hemigaleidae, Scavenging, Santa Teresa Fm., Miocene, Puntarenas provinceAbstract
The trophic interactions of many extant shark species are well known. When examining the fossil record, the evidence is weak, often indirect, and subject to interpretation, almost always limited to bite marks on bones. However, the record of shark teeth embedded in skeletal remains, although rare in the fossil record, constitutes direct evidence of predation and/or scavenging. Even rarer is the record of trophic interactions type Shark-on-Shark. Here, we describe the discovery of a fossil that provides direct evidence of trophic interaction between a Hemigaleid shark on Carcharhinid shark, from inner neritic sediments of the Santa Teresa Formation of Miocene age.
Downloads
References
Aguilera, O. A., García, L., & Cozzuol, M. A. (2008). Giant-toothed White sharks and cetacean trophic interaction from the Pliocene Caribbean Paraguaná Formation. Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 82(2), 204–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02988410
Amalfitano, J., Dalla Vecchia, F. M., Giusberti, L., Fornaciari, E., Luciani, V., & Roghi, G. (2017). Direct evidence of trophic interaction between a large lamniform shark, Cretodus sp., and a marine turtle from the Cretaceous of northeastern Italy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 469, 104–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.12.044
Baranes, A., & Ben-Tuvia, A. (1979). Two rare carcharhinids, Hemipristis elongatus and Iago omanensis, from the northern Red Sea. Israel Journal of Zoology, 28(1), 39-50
Benites-Palomino, A., Aguirre-Fernández, G., Velez-Juarbe, J., Carrillo-Briceño, J. D., Sánchez, R., & Sánchez-Villagra, M. R. (2023). Trophic interactions of sharks and crocodylians with a sea cow (Sirenia) from the Miocene of Venezuela. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 43 (6). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2381505
Bianucci, G., Bisconti, M., Landini, W., Storai, T., Zuffa, M., Giuliani, S., & Mojetta, A. (2000). Trophic interactions between white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and cetaceans: a comparison between Pliocene and recent data. In M. Vacchi, G. La Mesa, F. Serena, & B. Sèret (Eds.), Proceedings 4th Meeting of the European Elasmobranc Association, Livorno (Italy). 33–48. Imprimerie F. Paillart.
Bigelow, P. K. (1994). Occurrence of a squaloid shark (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes) with the pinniped Allodesmus from the Upper Miocene of Washington. Journal of Paleontology, 68(3), 680-684. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022336000026032
Burris, J. H. (2004). Morphology and phylogenetic implications of Recent and fossil carcharhiniform shark vertebral centra (PhD Dissertation). Michigan State University.
Calvo, C. (1987). Las Calizas neríticas de la Vertiente Pacífica del Norte de Costa Rica y Sur de Nicaragua: Épocas y Sistemas Asociados con la apertura y evolución del margen convergente de la América Central meridional. (Bachelor Thesis). Universidad de Costa Rica.
Cappetta, H. (2012). Chondrichthyes II: Mesozoic and Cenozoic Elasmobranchii: teeth. In H. P. Schulze (Ed.), Handbook of Paleoichthyology (3E, pp. 1-512). Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil.
Carpenter, K. E., Krupp, F., Jones, D. A., & Zajonz, U. (1997). FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. FAO.
Chandler, R. E., Chiswell, K. E., & Faulkner, G. D. (2006). Quantifying a Possible Miocene Phyletic Change in Hemipristis (Chondrichthyes) teeth. Palaeontologia Electronica, 9(1), 4A:1-14. https://palaeo-electronica.org/2006_1/teeth/teeth.pdf
Chappell, A., & Séret, B. (2020). Functional Morphology of the Feeding Apparatus of the Snaggletooth Shark, Hemipristis elongate (Carcharhiniformes: Hemigaleidae). Journal of Anatomy, 238(2), 288–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13313
Cicimurri, D. J., & Knight, J. L. (2009). Two Shark bitten Whale Skeletons from Coastal Plain Deposits of South Carolina. Southeastern Naturalist, 8(1), 71–82. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/25599297
Cigala Fulgosi, F. (1990). Predation (or possible scavenging) by a great White shark on an extinct species of bottlenosed dolphin in the Italian Pliocene. Tertiary Research, 12, 17–36.
Collareta, A., Lambert, O., Landini, W., Di Celma, C., Malinverno, E., Varas-Malca, R., Urbina, M., & Bianucci, G. (2017). Did the giant extinct shark Carcharocles megalodon target small prey? Bite marks on marine mammal remains from the late Miocene of Peru. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 469, 84–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.01.001
Compagno, L. J. V. (1984). FAO Species Catalogue, volume 4, part 1, Sharks of the world: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. United Nations Development Program. Roma. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/1b650fd0-3675-43cc-adcf-876cdc5a001f/content
Compagno, L. J. V. (1998). Hemigaleidae, weasel sharks. In Carpenter, K.E., & Niem, V.H. (Eds.), FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 2, Cephalopods, crustaceans, holothurians and sharks (pp. 1305-1311). https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/40a8028a-042a-46fc-b573-eb1700b3d85c/content
Cortés, D., De Gracia, C., Carrillo-Briceño, J. D., Aguirre-Fernández, G., Jaramillo, C., Benites-Palomino, A., & Atencio-Araúz, J. E., (2019). Shark-cetacean trophic interactions during the late Pliocene in the Central Eastern Pacific (Panama). Palaeontologia Electronica, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.26879/953
Cozzuol, M. A., & Aguilera, O. A. (2008). Cetacean remains from the Neogene of northwestern Venezuela. Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 82(2), 196–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02988409
Deméré, T. A., & Cerutti, R. A. (1982). A Pliocene shark attack on a cetotheriid whale. Journal of Paleontology, 56, 1480–1482.
Denyer, P., Aguilar, T., & Montero, W. (2013). Mapa geológico de la hoja Cabuya (3144-I). Escala 1:50 000. UCR-MINAE.
Dortangs, R. W., Schulp, A. S., Mulder, E. W. A, Jagt, J. W. M., Peeters, H. H. G., & de Graaf, D. T. (2002). A large new mosasaur from the Upper Cretaceous of The Netherlands. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 81, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016774600020515
Ebert, D. A., Dando, M., & Fowler, S. (2021). Sharks of the World: A Complete Guide. Princeton University Press, Wildenature Press.
Ehret, D. J., MacFadden, B. J., Jones, D. S., DeVries, T. J., & Salas-Gismondi, R. (2009). Caught in the act: trophic interactions between a 4-million-year-old white shark (Carcharodon) and mysticete whale from Peru. PALAIOS, 24(5), 329–333. https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2008.p08-077r
Ehret, D. J., & Harrell, T. L. (2018). Feeding traces on a Pteranodon (Reptilia: Pterosauria) bone from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Mooreville Chalk in Alabama, USA. PALAIOS, 33(9), 414-418. https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2018.024
Everhart, M. J. (2004). Late Cretaceous interaction between predators and prey: Evidence of feeding by two species of shark on a mosasaur. PalArch Vertebrate Palaeontology Series, 1(1), 1–7.
Everhart, M. J., & Ewell, K. (2006). Shark-bitten dinosaur (Hadrosauridae) caudal vertebrae from the Niobrara Chalk (Upper Coniacian) of western Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, 10 (1/2), 27-35.
Everhart, M. J., & Hamm, S. A. (2005). A new nodosaur specimen (Dinosauria: Nodosauridae) from the Smoky Hill Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of western Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, 108(1), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.1660/0022-8443(2005)108[0015:ANNSDN]2.0.CO;2
Feichtinger, I., Fritz, I., & Göhlich, U. B. (2021). Tiger shark feeding on sirenian–first fossil evidence from the middle Miocene of the Styrian Basin (Austria). Historical Biology, 34(2), 193–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2021.1906665
Freschi, A. (2017). New Carcharodon scavenging evidence on Pliocene whale bones remains from Northern Appennines. Quaderni del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Ferrara, 5, 33-36. https://storianaturale.comune.fe.it/modules/core/lib/d.php?c=jklo5
Freschi, A., & Cau, S. (2020). Nuovi segni d’interazione trofica tra Charcharodon carcharias ed un odontoceto dal bacino Plio-Pleistocenico di Castell’Arquato (Piacenza, Apennino Settentrionale). Parva Naturalia, 15, 133-156.
Godfrey, S. J., Ellwood, M., Groff, S., & Verdin, M. S. (2018). Carcharocles-bitten odontocete caudal vertebrae from the Coastal Eastern United States. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 63(3), 463–468. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00495.2018
Godfrey, S. J., Nance, J. R., & Riker, N. L. (2021). Otodus-bitten sperm whale tooth from the Neogene of the Coastal Eastern United States. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 66(3), 599–603. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00820.2020
Godfrey, S. J., Murdoch, P., Dewaele, L., Perez, V. J., & Schumaker, C. (2024a). First report in the fossil record of a shark tooth embedded in a pinniped bone. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 23(8), 107-118. https://doi.org/10.5852/cr-palevol2024v23a8
Godfrey, S. J., Bennett, M., & Perez, V. J. (2024b). Taphonomic and ecological insights from conspecific bite marks on Otodus megalodon teeth. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 69(4), 731–736. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.01188.2024
Govender, R., & Chinsamy, A. (2013). Early Pliocene (5 Ma) shark-cetacean trophic interaction from Langebaanweg, western coast of South Africa. PALAIOS, 28, 270-277. https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2012.p12-058r
Govender R. (2015). Shark–Cetacean trophic interaction, Duinefontein, Koeberg, (5 Ma), South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 111(11/12), 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/ sajs.2015/20140453
Govender, R. (2021). Shark-seal interaction off South Africa’s west coast during the early Pliocene (5 Ma). South African Journal of Science, 117(3/4), 123-129. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2021/8837
Hamm, S. A., & Shimada, K. (2007). The Late Cretaceous anacoracid shark, Pseudocorax laevis (Leriche), from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, 110(1/2), 1-15.
Hill, R. V., Roberts, E. M., Tapanila, L., Bouaré, M. L., Sissoko, F., & O’Leary, M. A. (2015). Multispecies shark feeding in the Trans-Saharan seaway: Evidence from late cretaceous dyrosaurid (crocodyliformes) fossils from northeastern Mali. PALAIOS, 30(7), 589–596. https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.109
Hone, D. W. E., Witton, M. P., & Habib, M. B. (2018). Evidence for the Cretaceous shark Cretoxyrhina mantelli feeding on the pterosaur Pteranodon from the Niobrara Formation. PeerJ, 6, e6031. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6031
Jambura, P. L, Pfaff, C., Underwood, C. J., Ward, D. J., & Kriwet, J. (2018). Tooth mineralization and histology patterns in extinct and extant snaggletooth sharks, Hemipristis (Carcharhiniformes, Hemigaleidae) Evolutionary significance or ecological adaptation? PLoS ONE, 13(8), e0200951. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200951
Kozuch, L., & Fitzgerald, C. (1989). A guide to identifying shark centra from southeastern archaeological sites. Southeastern Archaeology, 8, 146–157.
Kriwet, J., Witzmann, F., Klug, S., & Heidtke, U. H. J. (2008). First direct evidence of a vertebrate three-level trophic chain in the fossil record. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B275, 181-186.
Laurito, C. (1999). Los seláceos fósiles de la localidad de Alto Guayacán (y otros ictiolitos asociados). CIIPALEOGEO.
Medeiros, S., Francischini, H., Oddone, M. C., Cardoso, L. G., & Dentzien-Dias, P. (2024). Shark (Neoselachii) vertebral centra from the Quaternary of southern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 27(2), e20240439. https://doi.org/10.4072/rbp.2024.2.0439
Merella, M., Collareta, A., Casati, S., Di Cencio, A., & Bianucci, G. (2021). An unexpected deadly meeting: deep-water (hexanchid) shark bite marks on a sirenian skeleton from Pliocene shoreface deposits of Tuscany (Italy). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 301(3), 295–305. https://doi.org/10.1127/njgpa/2021/1012
Noriega, J. I., Cione, A. L., & Aceñolaza, F. G. (2007). Shark tooth marks on Miocene balaenopterid cetacean bones from Argentina. Neues Jahrbuch Für Geologie Und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 245(2), 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1127/0077-7749/2007/0245-0185
Perez, V. J. (2020). Self-bitten snaggletooth. Ecphora, 35, 12.
Perez, V. J., Godfrey, S. J., & Chapman, P. F. (2021). Rare evidence of shark-on-shark trophic interactions in the fossil record. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 66(4), 847-856. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00911.2021
Pimiento, C., Cantalapiedra, L. J., Shimada, K., Field, D., & Smaers, J. (2019) Evolutionary pathways toward gigantism in sharks and rays. Evolution, 73, 588-599. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13680
Purdy, R. W., Schneider, V. P., Applegate, S. P., McLellan, J. H., Meyer, R. L., & Slaughter, B. H. (2001). The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. In C. E. Ray & D. J. Bohaska. (Eds.), Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina (vol. 90, pp. 71–202). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology.
Rondelli, R., Borghi, E., & Borghi, M. (2024) Denti di Elasmobranchii nel Piacenziano della Cava di Campore (Appennino Parmense). Notiziario della Società Reggiana di Scienze Naturali, 2024, 148-178. https://srsnsite.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/n2024-art11-denti-di-eelasmobranchi-nel-piacenziano.pdf
Rothschild, B. M., Martin, L. D., & Schulp, A. S. (2005). Sharks eating mosasaurs, dead or alive?. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 84, 335-340. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016774600021119
Rateau, R., Gagnaison, C., & Gelot, V. (2009). Un Metaxytherium medium (Mammalia, Sirenia) attaqué par des requins dans les faluns miocènes de Channay-sur-lathan (37, France). Symbioses, Nouvelle Série, 23, 1-12.
Schein, J. P., & Poole, J. C. (2014). A shark-bitten dinosaur (Hadrosauridae) femur from the latest Maastrichtian basal Hornerstown Formation, New Jersey, U.S.A. The Mosasaur, 8, 15–22.
Shimada, K. (1997a). Paleoecological relationships of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli (Agassiz). Journal of Paleontology, 71(5), 926 - 933. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002233600003585X
Shimada, K. (1997b). Dentition of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli, from the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 17(2), 269-279.
Shimada, K., & Everhart, M. J. (2004). Shark-bitten Xiphactinus audax (Teleostei: Ichthyodectiformes) from the Niobrara Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas. The Mosasaur, 7, 35-39.
Shimada, K., & Hooks, G. E. (2004). Shark-bitten protostegid turtles from the Upper Cretaceous Mooreville Chalk, Alabama. Journal of Paleontology, 78(1), 205–210.
Shimada, K., & Hanks, H. D. (2020). Shark-Bitten Hesperornithiform Bird Bone from a Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) Marine Deposit of Northeastern South Dakota, U.S.A. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, 123(3-4), 414-418. https://doi.org/10.1660/062.123.0310
Soler-Gijón, R. (1995). Evidence of predator-prey relationship in xenacanth sharks of the Upper Carboniferous (Stephanian C) from Puertollano; Spain. Geobios, 28, 151–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-6995(95)80104-9
Takakuwa, Y. (2014). A dense occurrence of teeth of fossil “mako” shark (“Isurus”: Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes), associated with a balaenopterid-whale skeleton of the Late Miocene Pisco Formation, Peru, South America. Bulletin of Gunma Museum of Natural History, 18, 77-86.
Welton, B. J., & Farish, R. F. (1993). The collector’s guide to fossil sharks and rays from the Cretaceous of Texas (1st ed.). Before Time.
Williams, M. E. (1990). Feeding behavior in Cleveland shale fishes. In A. J. Boucot (Ed.), Evolutionary paleobiology of behavior and coevolution (pp. 273–287). Elsevier.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Daniela Araya-Gamboa, César A. Laurito, Cristian Calvo, Ana L. Valerio (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Usted es libre de:
Compartir — copiar y redistribuir el material en cualquier medio o formato
Adaptar — remezclar, transformar y construir a partir del material
La licenciante no puede revocar estas libertades en tanto usted siga los términos de la licencia
Bajo los siguientes términos:
Atribución — Usted debe dar crédito de manera adecuada , brindar un enlace a la licencia, e indicar si se han realizado cambios . Puede hacerlo en cualquier forma razonable, pero no de forma tal que sugiera que usted o su uso tienen el apoyo de la licenciante.
NoComercial — Usted no puede hacer uso del material con propósitos comerciales .
CompartirIgual — Si remezcla, transforma o crea a partir del material, debe distribuir su contribución bajo la la misma licencia del original.
No hay restricciones adicionales — No puede aplicar términos legales ni medidas tecnológicas que restrinjan legalmente a otras a hacer cualquier uso permitido por la licencia.
Avisos:
No tiene que cumplir con la licencia para elementos del materiale en el dominio público o cuando su uso esté permitido por una excepción o limitación aplicable.
No se dan garantías. La licencia podría no darle todos los permisos que necesita para el uso que tenga previsto. Por ejemplo, otros derechos como publicidad, privacidad, o derechos morales pueden limitar la forma en que utilice el material.
