Sharks are one of the most terrifying creatures that roam the see freely, but the fact that they date so back in time amazes every single human.
In the most recent discovery, sharks that date 330-million-years back in time were found in the wall of a cave, which is located a couple of miles away from the sea.
The discovery was made in the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, USA.
The discovery led to the recovery of 15 to 20 different species of shark, which include one the size of a great white shark.
Rick Olson and Rick Toomey, 2 Mammoth Cave scientists, made the discovery and sent the images of the fossils to John-Paul Hodnett, a paleontologist, who helped them identify the creatures.
Talking about the discovery, Hodnett said, “There’s hardly ever any record at all of sharks teeth coming from these rocks.”
Hodnett added, “This is a brand-new record of sharks from a particular layer of time.”
The pictures that were shared with the public showed a lot of teeth and sections of fossilized cartilage.
Hodnett said the discovery is really a big deal because it suggests that there might be an entire shark skeleton in the cave.
Hodnett said shark skeletons are made out of cartilage, and they don’t fossilize very well.
This fact makes the discovery very important and valuable.
Shark teeth are often well preserved when they are discovered, but their skeletons are not.
After he got the snaps of the skeletons, Hodnett visited the caves in Kentucky to take a look at the fossils himself.
Once he arrived, he found parts of a head that belonged to a prehistoric shark that was once the same size as the great white shark.
The jaw that he found was around 2.5 feet complete with teeth and other bits of cartilage.
Another one belonged to an animal, the other 100 teeth belonged to other sharks.
Talking about the discovery, Hodnett said, “What we saw in the cave was amazing because just from the shape of the jaw we’ll be able to find out more about how this species lived and we’ll be able to fit it in the shark family tree more accurately.”
The researchers said the sharks that they found fossilized in the cave belong to a species of shark called the Saivodus Striatus, which roamed the sea over 330 million years ago.
The researchers are hopeful that more fossils could be found in the cave.
Hodnett added, “We literally just scratched the surface, and the sharks are just coming out from that scratch. So, hopefully, with more fieldwork, we’ll get another good batch of specimens to kind of help get at least some more rich diversity.”