First Deep-Sea Shark Fossil Teeth from the Miocene of South Korea

Abstract

Important vertebrate fossil remains were collected in the Pohang Basin in South Korea for many decades, but only few have been described up to now. Here, three deep-sea shark teeth are described, which most likely derived from the Duho Formation (middle Miocene) near Pohang City, South Korea. One of the teeth is identified as belonging to the genus Mitsukurina, while the others are assignable to Dalatias. None of these taxa were previously reported from the Korean Peninsula. The occurrences of these deep-water fishes in the Pohang Basin support the hypotheses that the Duho Formation was deposited in a deep-sea environment, and sharks, even including benthopelagic forms were already widely distributed throughout the East Sea when this sea was still developing.