In 2019, paleontologists and scientists made a rare discovery during a dig in Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. A massive skull belonging to ancient species of shark that lived some 300 million years ago has been found in an underground cave. Experts believe it belonged a Saivodus striatus, which lived between 340 and 330 million years ago during the Late Mississippian geological period.
This species of shark is believed to have grown to the size of a modern-day Great White, between 3.5 to 4 meters in length. Scientists who investigated the new discovery found that part of the shark’s head is preserved in the cave wall, not just the teeth, including part of the jaw and chin. Apart from teeth, shark fossils are hard to find because shark skeletons are made of cartilage, which usually decomposes before it can be fossilized.
This species of shark is believed to have grown to the size of a modern-day Great White, between 3.5 to 4 meters in length. Scientists who investigated the new discovery found that part of the shark’s head is preserved in the cave wall, not just the teeth, including part of the jaw and chin. Apart from teeth, shark fossils are hard to find because shark skeletons are made of cartilage, which usually decomposes before it can be fossilized.
