A potential project: 1/20-scale Otodus obliquus

[Paleogene Pals]

I would like to create a piece based on this shark but just in the research stage for now. I'm trying to find some good reconstructions for reference and scale. So far, most of what I have come across are the teeth.

[Kayakasaurus]

I would like to create a piece based on this shark but just in the research stage for now. I'm trying to find some good reconstructions for reference and scale. So far, most of what I have come across are the teeth.

That is because Sharks are mostly cartilage which doesn't get fossilized like bone does, hence the teeth

[Halichoeres]

Hi! I study fish for a living. To the best of my knowledge, Otodus is only known from a small fraction of the vertebral column and from many many teeth. The teeth are all pretty similar to other so-called mackerel sharks, to the extent that some authors (e.g. Cappetta 1973, J. of Paleont. 47: 504) have referred them to the genus Lamna (the extant porbeagle and salmon sharks). Because sharks have no dermal skeleton and the shapes of their faces are largely determined by the rostral cartilages, unless they are preserved in lagerstätten or exceptional anoxic environments, their external appearance is impossible to know. So I would think you could borrow freely the things you like and that make biomechanical sense from any shark in the Lamniformes, including great whites and threshers. I hope that helps; I know sometimes with creative projects more freedom can be paradoxically paralyzing.

[Yutyrannus]

Considering Cretolamna is likely an otodont this could be a good reference:

[Paleogene Pals]

Thank you all for the suggestions! Based on what I have read so far, I think looking into the genus Lamna and scaling up is the way to go. Halichoeres, I agree that the nature of shark preservation allows for a greater range of artistic freedom, but at the same time, it has to make some kind of biologic and phylogenetic sense. I want my pieces to represent what prehistoric animals could havelooked like as living, breathing animals and not go the whole prehistoric monster route. Anyway, I'm getting inspired to kick this thing off. 

[Paleogene Pals]

I am also nearly finished with my Barylambda and making progress on my Repenomamus. It has taken awhile, but I want them to look really, really good.

[Halichoeres]

Thank you all for the suggestions! Based on what I have read so far, I think looking into the genus Lamna and scaling up is the way to go. Halichoeres, I agree that the nature of shark preservation allows for a greater range of artistic freedom, but at the same time, it has to make some kind of biologic and phylogenetic sense. I want my pieces to represent what prehistoric animals could havelooked like as living, breathing animals and not go the whole prehistoric monster route. Anyway, I'm getting inspired to kick this thing off. 

Sounds about right! The main thing to keep in mind, I would say, when scaling up from something like the porbeagle is that the eye will be proportionately smaller and the front half of the body will be quite cylindrical in cross section. Look forward to seeing it!

[Paleogene Pals]

Gotcha!

[SBell]

I am in favour of this project!

I would also like to throw out there that someone needs to make a Ctenacanthid and a Petalodont. Just for future reference.

[Paleogene Pals]

Thank you SBell! Once I am finished, there will be resin castings made.

[LophoLeeVT]

wish luck

[Paleogene Pals]

Thanks, Raptor!

[Paleogene Pals]

So, as I continue the research process, can anyone recommend any good books on sharks, both prehistoric and extant, for reference materials? Thanks in advance!

[Halichoeres]

So, as I continue the research process, can anyone recommend any good books on sharks, both prehistoric and extant, for reference materials? Thanks in advance!

Carrier et al. 2012, Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives (http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Sharks-Relatives-Second-Marine/dp/1439839247/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431187975&sr=1-2&keywords=sharks+biology)
This link is to the second edition, but for your purposes the first edition would probably do just fine. I would direct your attention to chapter 5 on biomechanics of swimming, which includes some information on anatomical solutions to swimming at various body sizes. I think that could be helpful when you're deciding things like the lengths of the fins, the shape of the rostrum, or the size of the keel on the caudal peduncle.

There is a brief discussion of Otodus and its relatives in Long's The Rise of Fishes, but it is mostly about systematics and probably won't shed much light on anatomy and ecology.

[Paleogene Pals]

Thank you! A very valuable suggestion

[Halichoeres]

Any time! I'm excited to see the result.