A New Genus of Kitefin Sharks (Squaliformes, Dalatiidae) from the Berezovaya Strata (Lower Paleocene) of the Lower Volga Region.

A new genus and species of kitefin sharks (Squaliformes: Dalatiidae), Danodalatias ochevi gen. et sp. nov., is described based on isolated teeth from the lower part of the Berezovaya Strata (Lower Paleocene, Danian Stage) in the vicinity of the farmstead of Rasstrigin (Volgograd Region). The teeth of Centroselachus goordi Mannering et Hiller, 2008 from the Paleocene of New Zealand are reclassified here as Danodalatias goordi (Mannering et Hiller, 2008) comb. nov. The association of these two species with a bipolar distribution into the genus Danodalatias gen. nov. suggests that kitefin sharks (Dalatiidae) were globally distributed back in the Early Cenozoic and inhabited both shallow epicontinental and relatively deep ocean shelf environments during that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]