Data and scripts from: Shark fossil localities, in diving deeper: Leveraging the chondrichthyan fossil record to investigate environmental, ecological, and biological change

The extensive chondrichthyan fossil record spans 400+ million years and
has a global distribution. Paleontological studies provide a foundation of
description and taxonomy to support deeper forays into ecology and
evolution considering geographic, morphologic, and functional changes
through time with non-analogue species and climate states. Although
chondrichthyan teeth are most studied, analyses of dermal denticle metrics
and soft tissue imprints are increasing. Recent methodological advances in
morphology and geochemistry are elucidating fine-scale details, whereas
large datasets and ecological modeling are broadening taxonomic, temporal,
and geographic perspective. The combination of ecological metrics and
modeling with environmental reconstruction and climate simulations are
opening new horizons to explore form and function, demographic dynamics,
and food web structure in ancient marine ecosystems. Ultimately, the
traits and taxa that endured or perished during the many catastrophic
upheaval events in Earth’s history contribute to conservation
paleobiology, which is a much-needed perspective for extant
chondrichthyans.