Cretaceous Selachians 
83 
Description : — Teeth comparable in size and superficial appearance to 
those of the modern Odontaspis (Carcharias) taurus (Rafinesque). Erect cen- 
tral blade with or without striae or plications upon either the lingual or 
labial face; one or two lateral cusplets extending upward and outward 
from the base of the blade near the root apron; roots robust in teeth of the 
anterior and symphysial files, flattened in the lateral and posterior files. 
Tooth cuspidate or sigmoidal depending upon its position in the jaw. 
Discussion'. — Teeth of the Odontaspidae are quite difficult to sort and 
separate, as the species are sometimes similar in characteristics. The 
teeth from the Peedee Formation show no features of cusp design or root 
structure that would serve to distinguish them from previously-known 
species of Odontaspis , such as the Upper Cretaceous species 0. samhammen, 
0. hardingi , and 0. holmdelensis described by Cappetta and Case from New 
Jersey. Until more and better material becomes available, the North 
Carolina teeth cannot be identified to species. 
Family CRETOXYRHINIDAE 
Cretolamna Glyckman, 1958 
Cretolamna appendiculata lata (Agassiz) 
Otodus latus Agassiz, 1843:271, PI. 32, Fig. 26. 
Material'. — PU 22423A, an upper lateral tooth (Figs. 15-16), and PU 
22423B, a lower anterior tooth (Figs. 17-18); two dozen anterior and 
lateral teeth from both upper and lower jaws. Site 1. 
Description : — Teeth as described in Cappetta and Case (1975b: 21). 
The lower jaw teeth are more pointed and basically symmetrical, with 
pinched roots, while the roots of the upper jaw teeth are more flattened 
and their cusps are more squat. In the lateral to posterior files the blades 
are more slanted towards the commissure. There are two constricted ac- 
cessory cusps, triangular in shape (not sigmoidal as in the Odont- 
aspidae), on the anterior lower teeth, while the accessory cusps on the up- 
per teeth are much wider and flatter. Roots in the lingual aspect are with 
or without an apical foramen, but all teeth lack a medial groove in that 
area. On certain specimens, mostly lateral to posterior teeth, there are 
vestiges of an additional and smaller accessory cusplet. 
Discussion: — Cretolamna appendiculata lata is a most common species in 
the Cretaceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, while it is rare in the Gulf 
Coastal Plain (Texas in particular), and completely unknown in the 
Western Interior where Plicatolamna takes its place as the dominant form. 
It is common in the Maestrichtian of North Africa, especially in Morocco, 
and is present but uncommon in European Cretaceous deposits. In the 
