Man Stumbles Upon Shark Teeth, Dating Back To 25 Million Years

An amateur fossil enthusiast struck gold when he discovered the teeth of a pre-historic shark in a boulder. The discoverer, Phil Mullaly, was taking a stroll along Jan Juc, which is present in Victoria’s Surf Coast in Southern Australia, when he spotted the boulder, which had something shining protruding from it. On closer inspection, he saw that it was the partially exposed tooth of a shark. This was not the only teeth that he found that day, as he discovered may such similar teeth that day, back in 2015.

Scientists have now been able to conclude studies on these teeth, confirming his guess that they belong to a now extinct mega-toothed shark species, the Great Jagged Narrow-Toothed Shark, whose scientific name is Carcharocles angustidens. It is believed that this shark grew up to 30 feet long, twice the length of a great white shark. The discovered teeth were about 2.75 inches in length. A team of excavators from Museums Victoria, led by paleontologist Erich Fitzgerald, had excavated the site of the initial findings. Fitzgerald stated that during the last 200 years, only 3 such fossils had been discovered on the planet, with the Australian one being among them. Mullaly had contacted Fitzgerald about the discovery only last year, however, the significance of the discovery was understood by Fitzgerald only when Mullaly brought the teeth to the museum. Fitzgerald added that multiple teeth findings from a single shark is an extremely rare case. The team started their excavation in December last year, and started finding teeth within 20 minutes. The team discovered more than 40 varied specimens, which also included teeth of the as-yet-roaming Sixgill sharks, who live off the Victorian coast. Through these findings, the team hopes to delve deeper into understanding its evolution, lifestyle and ecology, and extinction of this mega-toothed shark species.

Meanwhile, a footage has emerged from off the coast of Massachusetts, US, which shows the shark at its most savage. The footage shows the great white shark attacking a seal, as researchers from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy continue tagging the predators in the Cape Cod area. A member of the ship’s crew is seen screaming as the shark comes into view, who then sees a seal in the shark’s mouth. The shark is then seen just breaching the surface for a short second and shaking the seal, which leads to a blood spill as the shark vigorously tears on its meal, before dragging it back under water. The footage has been uploaded on YouTube, where it has left viewers stunned.