Abstract
Total eight elasmobranch teeth were co-occurred with the neotype skeleton of Paleoparadoxia tabatai (NMNS-PV 5601), a desmostylian mammal, from the Lower Miocene Akeyo Formation (ca. 18 Ma), Mizunami Group in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. Six specimens were identified as Galeocerdo aduncus, and the remaining two were identified as Carcharhinus sp. In addition, six linear marks were recognized on the right tibia, four on the right fibula, and six on the right fourth intermediate phalanx of the neotype. These linear marks, assigned to the ichnospecies Linichnus bromleyi, are interpreted as bite marks potentially retained by these sharks. The co-occurrence of these shark teeth and characteristic marks strongly suggests that the carcass of neotype individual of P. tabatai was scavenged on the seafloor by marine organisms, including these sharks, through postmortem breakages. This finding provides important insights into the taphonomic process and paleoecology of the Desmostylia as a case in the Miocene Mizunami Group.
https://ror.org/02357hp16 
