Palaeohypotodus bizzocoi

Palaeohypotodus bizzocoi is an extinct shark whose fossilized teeth were found in the Porters Creek Formation in Wilcox County. They were deposited during the Paleocene epoch, when most of present-day Alabama was covered by shallow subtropical and tropical seas.

The teeth used to establish the species had been collected more than a century ago and stored as part of the collection of the Geological Survey in Alabama. Jun Ebersole made the initial appraisal, and worked with David Cicimurri of the South Carolina State Museum and T. Lynn Harrell Jr of the Geological Survey of Alabama to document and describe the species.

The shark was named in honor of former Shelton State Community College dean and McWane Science Center volunteer Bruce Bizzoco.

References

• Ebersole, Jun A., et al (2024) "A new species of Palaeohypotodus Glückman, 1964 (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) from the lower Paleocene (Danian) Porters Creek Formation, Wilcox County, Alabama, USA." Fossil Record 10.3897/fr.27.e112800
• Byington, Pat (February 7, 2024) "65-million-year-old fossil shark found in Alabama by McWane Science Center scientist." Bham Now