View source for Komoksodon

{{Short description|Extinct genus of hexanchiform shark}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Campanian|Selandian }}
| parent_authority = Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019
| taxon = Komoksodon
| authority = Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * {{extinct}}''K. kwutchakuth'' <small>Cappetta, Morrison & Adnet, 2019</small>
}}
'''''Komoksodon''''' is an [[Extinction|extinct]] [[genus]] of [[Hexanchiformes|hexanchiform]] [[shark]] known from the [[Late Cretaceous]] to the [[Paleocene]]. It is the only member of the [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] [[Family (biology)|family]] '''Komoksodontidae'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Komoksodon kwutchakuth {{!}} Shark-References |url=https://shark-references.com/species/view/Komoksodon-kwutchakuth |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=shark-references.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Cappetta |first1=Henri |last2=Morrison |first2=Kurt |last3=Adnet |first3=Sylvain |date=2021-08-03 |title=A shark fauna from the Campanian of Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada: an insight into the diversity of Cretaceous deep-water assemblages |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2019.1681421 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=1121–1182 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2019.1681421 |bibcode=2021HBio...33.1121C |issn=0891-2963}}</ref>
It is represented by a single known species, '''''K. kwutchakuth''''' from the [[Campanian]] [[Northumberland Formation]] of [[Canada]]. However, teeth have also been identified from the Campanian of [[Angola]] and the m[[Selandian|iddle Paleocene]] of [[New Zealand]], suggesting that ''Komoksodon'' briefly survived the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction]]. All these localities appear to be deep-water habitats, suggesting that ''Komoksodon'' was a deep-water specialist much like other hexanchiforms. The New Zealand teeth were previously assigned to the [[Orthacodontidae|orthacodontid]] ''[[Sphenodus]]'' before being reanalyzed prior to the genus's description, and likely represent an undescribed taxon due to certain morphological differences from the Canadian species.<ref name=":0" />
The teeth can be distinguished from all other extant and extinct sharks by their highly distinctive and complex root morphology, which suggests that teeth could closely interlock with one another. These structures are somewhat similar to those of [[Chlamydoselachidae|chlamydoselachid]] sharks, suggesting that komoksodontids are also hexanchiforms.<ref name=":0" />
The genus name honors the [[Kʼómoks]] people of [[British Columbia]], who assisted with the naming of the species ''kwutchakuth'', which means "shark" in the unwritten [[Comox language]].<ref name=":0" />
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q124115642}}
[[Category:Hexanchiformes]]
[[Category:Prehistoric shark genera]]
[[Category:Fossils of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Cretaceous sharks]]
[[Category:Paleocene sharks]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2019]]