This Fossil Friday I would like to show you another shark from the Culebra Formation called Hemipristis serra. This specimen was found at the Hodge’s Hill site and is from the early Miocene. Fossils of this extinct shark are most common in warm-water marine deposits. Hemipristis elongatus, also known as the snaggletooth shark, is the only extant member of the genus and is found in tropical marine settings. Members of the genus Hemipristis are just a few of many that belong to the chondrichthyan Order Carcharhiniformes. Modern carcharhiniform sharks can be found in waters worldwide ranging from arctic to tropical and near shore to deep water.

To read more about this specimen, read the publication on it here. To read an entry in Fossils of Panama on Hemipristis serra from the Gatún Formation, click here.