Dataset to: Stumpf et al. (2026) "First hybodontiform record reveals chondrichthyan role in Carnian food webs of the Upper Triassic Reifling Basin, Austria"

<p>MicroCT dataset used in the publication "First hybodontiform record reveals chondrichthyan role in Carnian food webs of the Upper Triassic Reifling Basin, Austria" by Sebastian Stumpf, Alexander Lukeneder and Viola Winkler.</p><p>The Upper Triassic
Reifling Basin of the Northern Calcareous Alps in Austria has yielded rich
marine fossil assemblages,
offering rare insights into complex basinal food webs during the Carnian
Pluvial Event (CPE), a critical interval of major global environmental upheaval.
Despite extensive sampling, chondrichthyan fishes had not been recovered until
now. Here we report the first unambiguous chondrichthyan record from the
Reifling Basin, represented by a single indeterminate hybodontiform tooth from
the lower Carnian of Scheiblingbach. Still largely embedded in matrix, the specimen
was examined through micro-CT scanning and digital segmentation. The tooth, indicative
of a small- to medium-sized durophagous generalist likely occupying a
mid-trophic position, adds to the scarce chondrichthyan record from the Alpine
Upper Triassic during the CPE. While the Scheiblingbach tooth bears some
resemblance to <i>Polyacrodus</i> and <i>Acrodus</i>, the deeply unresolved taxonomy and likely
polyphyletic nature of these and other historically problematic hybodontiform
genera preclude confident identification, exemplifying the persistent
difficulty of assigning isolated hybodontiform teeth to specific taxa. Nonetheless,
the tooth from Scheiblingbach
refines our understanding of Triassic hybodontiform diversity and distribution
and highlights the urgent need for future research to overcome long-lasting
taxonomic challenges that continue to constrain our perception of early
Mesozoic chondrichthyan dynamics.</p>