0 Shark Teeth Fossilized - The Single Thing Left

When we talk of sharks, our minds are set on a roller coaster ride and we only manage to think about a huge fish with pointed teeth, which is ready to attack and gobble you up. Sharks are not just huge carnivore fishes, they are categorized into number of species that have become extinct or occurred due to evolutionary change and are stilled living in the present. It is very difficult to find out information about the sharks that have died about 650 million years ago. Sharks did not have bones, but their skeletal composition consisted of cartilage. So, want to know about shark fossil? Lots more information is waiting ahead for you in this article. The only things left of the sharks in the prehistoric times are their fossilized teeth. These teeth are implanted in the fleshy gums with new teeth waiting to be exposed after the front tooth falls.

Shapes of the shark tooth of every era are in accordance with their diet. They have variety of shapes and size, for example, the specie that feeds on molluscs and crustaceans have flattened teeth whereas the specie that feeds on fish have needle shaped teeth for gripping. There are many fascinating assumptions and facts constructed by the ancient people. Oldest fossil record was found by Pliny the Elder. His interpretation of the fossil was these triangular objects (shark teeth) fell from the sky during lunar eclipses! Many primitive researchers who found traces of large triangular fossil teeth that were found buried in the rocky formations were believed to be petrified tongues of dragons and snakes.

Fossilized shark teeth are usually found in the sedimentary rocks. They are abundant in the marine sediments, river banks, sand pits, beaches. Once you have spotted the animal fossil, make sure that the excavation should be carried out with great care. Phosphate pits consists of fossil bones and teeth. Polk Country in Central Florida is also called the Bone Valley which is famous for its abundance of fossilized bones and teeth.

DO YOU KNOW?
•Sharks existed 200 million years ago BEFORE the dinosaurs and today only 650-800 species are identified with none still living today.

•About 1.6 million years ago, the most well known and fearsome of all sharks existed. It believed to have exceeded 60 feet in length and weighed over 52 tons!

Shark teeth were commonly used for tools, especially weapons such as clubs and daggers, in Oceania and America. For example, the Native Hawaiians used various weapons made by shark teeth, which they termed as leiomano. Some of them were preserved for royalty. It is also reported that the rongorongo tablets of easter island were initially shaped and then inscribed using a hafted shark tooth.

Kiaren Notre is a qualified fossil-hunter. Since her childhood she has shown her interest for Geology. Norte has earned her PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and has actively taken part in worldwide excavation projects on plant fossils and animal fossils.