Placoid and polyodontode scales of stem chondrichthyans have been found in the early Lochkovian “Ditton
Group” of the Brown Clee Hill district, Shropshire, England and at Talgarth, south Wales. One of the forms is
assigned to a new species of Altholepis Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1997, a genus already recognised from Lochkovian
shallow marine deposits in Celtiberia, Spain and the Northwest Territories, Canada as well as the type locality in
Podolia, Ukraine. Altholepis salopensis sp. nov. is based on small polyodontode scales with typically three to eight
high odontodes; the scale form was previously considered to belong to acanthodian “Nostolepis” robusta (Brotzen,
1934). The structure of other scales formerly assigned to “Nostolepis” robusta has led us to erect a new genus
Jolepis for this scale form, which differs from Altholepis in lacking an ordered layout of odontodes. Jolepis robusta
(Brotzen, 1934), originally (and possibly still) considered to be an acanthodian, is also known from the Baltic
countries, Russia, and northern Germany (ex erratic limestones). Scales of acanthodian Parexus recurvus Agassiz,
1845, and/or possibly from the stem chondrichthyan Seretolepis elegans Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968 (scales of these
two taxa are barely distinguishable), and of stem chondrichthyan Polymerolepis whitei Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968
are also present. Altholepis, Jolepis gen. nov., Seretolepis Karatajūtė-Talimaa, 1968 and Polymerolepis Karatajūtė-
Talimaa, 1968 are found in marine deposits elsewhere; the British occurrence of these taxa adds to the debate on
the sedimentological origins of the Lower Old Red Sandstone deposits in the Welsh Borderland. The geographic
range of several early sharks is now known to extend around the Old Red Sandstone continent and beyond.
Here we use synchrotron tomography to characterise dental vasculature in the oldest known tooth-bearing
sharks, Leonodus carlsi Mader, 1986 and Celtiberina maderi Wang, 1993. Three dimensional reconstruction
of the vascular system and microstructure of both taxa revealed a complex and dense network of canals, including
horizontal, ascending and secondary bifurcated canals, as well as histological features consistent with
an osteodont histotype. However, L. carlsi and C. maderi also exhibit significant morphological differences,
showing Leonodus a typical diplodont tooth morphology with a linguo-labially elongated base, that contrast
with Celtiberina’s teeth that show a single conical cusp curved lingually with a week developed flat base mesio-
distally extended, perhaps reflecting distant relationship. These data are compatible with a pre-Devonian
diversification of the two main tooth types traditionally recognised in Palaeozoic sharks (i.e., “cladodont” vs
“diplodont”). Finally, our data demonstrate that existing dental classification schemes based on styles of vascularisation
are over-simplified, especially when Palaeozoic taxa are considered.