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Protospinax

Chondrichthyes - Protospinaciformes - Protospinacidae

Taxonomy
Protospinax was named by Woodward (1919) [Sepkoski's age data: J Tith-l Sepkoski's reference number: 525,884]. Its type is Protospinax annectans. It is the type genus of Protospinacidae.

It was synonymized subjectively with Belemnobatis by Maisey (1976).

It was assigned to Squalidae by Jordan (1963); to Squalomorphii by Sepkoski (2002); to Squaliformes by Adnet et al. (2008); to Protospinaciformes by van der Laan (2019); and to Protospinacidae by Woodward (1919), Thies (1983), Underwood (2002), Delsate (2003), Kriwet (2003), Underwood and Ward (2004), Guinot et al. (2014), Delsate and Felten (2015), Begat et al. (2025).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1919Protospinax Woodward p. 233
1963Protospinax Jordan p. 601
1983Protospinax Thies p. 21
2002Protospinax Sepkoski
2002Protospinax Underwood
2003Protospinax Delsate p. 9
2003Protospinax Kriwet p. 591
2004Protospinax Underwood and Ward p. 483
2008Protospinax Adnet et al. p. 717
2014Protospinax Guinot et al. p. 68
2015Protospinax Delsate and Felten p. 12
2019Protospinax van der Laan p. 44
2025Protospinax Begat et al. p. 734

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
RankNameAuthor
classChondrichthyes
infraclassElasmobranchii(Bonaparte 1838)
superorderSqualomorphi(Compagno 1973)
orderProtospinaciformes
familyProtospinacidae
genusProtospinax

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Protospinax Woodward 1919
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Protospinax annectans Woodward 1919
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Invalid names: Squalogaleus woodwardi Maisey 1976 [synonym]
Protospinax carvalhoi Underwood and Ward 2004
Protospinax planus Underwood 2002
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: marinesubp
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: nektonicc
Diet: carnivorec
Created: 2004-08-17 13:49:23
Modified: 2009-12-13 03:31:01
Source: c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Wagner 2023, Carroll 1988

Age range: base of the Late/Upper Toarcian to the top of the Early/Lower Aptian or 180.40000 to 119.57000 Ma

Collections (25 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Jurassic - Early/Lower Cretaceous201.4 - 100.5United Kingdom (England) P. annectans (241438)
Toarcian184.2 - 174.7Germany P. sp. (148936)
Levesquei182.9 - 174.7Luxembourg P. sp. (148935)
Variabilis182.9 - 174.7Luxembourg P. sp. (141383 141384)
Late/Upper Toarcian180.4 - 174.7Germany P. sp. (139230)
Thouarsense180.4 - 174.7Luxembourg P. sp. (141386 141387 141389)
Laeviuscula170.9 - 168.2France P. carvalhoi (179497)
Middle Bathonian - Late/Upper Bathonian168.2 - 165.3Poland P. sp. 1 (141283) P. sp. 2 (141286)
Callovian165.3 - 161.5United Kingdom P. annectans (137185)
Late/Upper Callovian165.3 - 161.5Poland P. sp. 1, P. sp. 2 (117993)
Late/Upper Callovian165.3 - 161.5Luxembourg P. sp. 1, P. sp. 2, P. annectans (91447)
Middle Callovian165.3 - 161.5Poland P. sp. 1, P. sp. 2 (97035)
Late/Upper Oxfordian157.9 - 154.8Spain P. sp. (151900)
Late/Upper Oxfordian157.9 - 154.8Germany P. lochensteinensis (137169)
Early/Lower Kimmeridgian154.8 - 152.21Germany P. annectans (276591)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian - Early/Lower Tithonian152.21 - 145.06United Kingdom (England) P. planus (140224)
Early/Lower Tithonian149.2 - 145.06Germany P. annectans, Squalogaleus woodwardi (121197)
Early/Lower Tithonian149.2 - 145.06Germany (Bayern) P. annectans (139551 276590)
Early/Lower Valanginian137.05 - 132.6France (Gard) P. sp. (213631)
Early/Lower Aptian121.4 - 119.57United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (241457)