Freshwater Xenacanthid (=Pleuracanth) Shark Fossils from the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation, India

Xenacanth (=pleuracanth) shark fossils are exclusively known from the freshwater deposits from late Devonian up to the Upper Triassic. Triassic occurrences are sporadic and have so far not been supported by skull material. Teeth and skull material from the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation consists of well preserved characteristic' Diplodus' type teeth and a few calcified cartilages of the skull region. It shows affinity with the Australian X. parvidens from the Lower Wianamatta Series of New South Wales and X. moorei from the Keuper of Somersetshire (England) and Wurtemberg (Germany). Being the first record from India, the material is assigned to X. indicus sp. nov. The three species viz., X. parvidens, X. moorei and X. indicus represent the last survivors of the family Xenacanthidae in the Upper Triassic.