Variation in composition and abundance of Miocene shark teeth from Calvert Cliffs, Maryland

Abstract

ABSTRACT Shark teeth are the most common vertebrate fossils found along the western shore of Chesapeake Bay at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland. The stratigraphic distribution of teeth within the cliffs has not yet been documented. We utilized museum collections of in situ teeth to access their distribution within stratigraphic beds and a large selection of float teeth retrieved from Calvert County beaches as a proxy for the distribution of teeth within stratigraphic beds and across underlying beaches. Museum collections provide 1,866 teeth recorded in situ; float collections yield a total of 24,409 teeth. These data sets offer different, but complementary, results. Miocene sediments along Calvert Cliffs comprise the Calvert, Choptank, and St. Marys formations. Over 96% of all teeth in the in situ data set derive from the Calvert Formation, likely due to favorable paleoenvironmental conditions for sharks. The non-uniform stratigraphic distribution of teeth is further supported by an uneven distribution of teeth collected on beaches below the cliffs. Samples from northern localities contained more float specimens; cliffs in this area are composed almost entirely of the Calvert Formation. Fifteen genera are represented in the in situ and float collections. The main constituents are Carcharhinus spp., Hemipristis serra, Galeocerdo spp., Isurus spp., and Carcharias spp. Most of these genera exhibit significant unidirectional trends in the proportional abundance of teeth across Calvert Cliffs beaches. Factors influencing these variations remain unclear, but the overall dominance of carcharhiniforms over lamniform and other sharks observed for the Miocene persists in modern nearshore environments.