Abstract
The sawshark Pristiophorus lanceolatus (Davis) is known from the New Zealand and Australian Cenozoic. The taxon was described last century from a single worn rostral tooth from the Oligocene of New Zealand. This species is revised and compared in the light of additional more typical rostral teeth. Its stratigraphic range, from Middle Eocene to Pleistocene in New Zealand, is the most continuous for any known fossil Pristiophorus. Its Australian record extends from Early Miocene to Early Pliocene. The morphology and stratigraphic occurrence of known world fossil pristiophorid taxa (P. japonicus, P. lanceolatus, P. lineatus, P. tumidens, P. cf. schroederi, P. suevicus, P. spp.) is discussed, their phylogenetic relationships are compared and possible evolutionary histories outlined. Extant members of Pristiophorus (P. cirratus, P. japonicus, P. nudipinnis, P. schroederi) are related to likely fossil ancestors, and P. owenii is regarded as a synonym of P. nudipinnus. Geographic distributions of fossil and Recent taxa are illustrated and possible migration routes suggested. Distributions for fossil and extant taxa of the Pliotrematinae are also plotted.