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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) â The 300-million-year-old sharkâs teeth were the first sign that it might be a distinct species.
The ancient chompers looked less like the spear-like rows of teeth of related species. They were squatter and shorter, less than an inch long, around 2 centimeters.
âGreat for grasping and crushing prey rather than piercing prey,â said discoverer John-Paul Hodnett, who was a graduate student when he unearthed the first fossils of the shark at a dig east of Albuquerque in 2013.
This week, Hodnett and a slew of other researchers published their findings in a bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science identifying the shark as a separate species.
In this undated photo provided by John-Paul Hodnett are a row of teeth on the lower jaw of a 300-million-year-old shark species named this week following a nearly complete skeleton of the species in 2013 in New Mexico. (John-Paul Hodnett via AP)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) The 300-million-year-old shark’s teeth were the first sign that it might be a distinct species.
The ancient chompers looked less like the spear-like rows of teeth of related species. They were squatter and shorter, less than an inch long, around 2 centimeters.
“Great for grasping and crushing prey rather than piercing prey,” said discoverer John-Paul Hodnett, who was a graduate student when he unearthed the first fossils of the shark at a dig east of Albuquerque in 2013.
Apr 17, 2021 12:02 AM EDT
After years of study, scientists have now given a name to a shark that lived over 300 million years ago.
(Photo : Images Courtesy of Byron Dilkes, Danah Divers)
Great white shark the current apex marine predator
Godzilla Shark
(Photo : skeeze)
When it was first discovered in 2013 by fossils found in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico, the shark was assigned the moniker Godzilla Shark.
The name is the discovery s original nickname, inspired by the look its dragon-like jawline and fin spines resembling those of the kaiju Godzilla.
The teeth of the 300-million-year-old shark were the first indication that it could be a separate species.