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Researchers Astounded to Find a 9-Million-Year-Old Fish Fossil in Exceptional Condition; Is Ancestor to Great White Shark

The remains gave experts valuable insights regarding the species' anatomy and diet.
PUBLISHED FEB 5, 2025
Permian Shark Fossil in Urzeitmeer-Museum, Wilhelmshaven, Germany (Representative Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Yohanes Wahyu Nurcahyo)
Permian Shark Fossil in Urzeitmeer-Museum, Wilhelmshaven, Germany (Representative Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Yohanes Wahyu Nurcahyo)

Archaeologists have recently uncovered a fossil that they believe is the ancestor of Peru's modern great white shark. The discovery happened in the Pisco Basin, stated Interesting Engineering. The remains were determined to be of Cosmopolitodus hastalis, a now-extinct mackerel shark. Though many fossils of this shark have been found in the past, this one stands apart because it is nearly complete in composition. The Peruvian Geological and Mining Institute (INGEMMET) conducted the whole exercise. Findings regarding the fossil have been published in Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia.

Selective Photo of Gray Shark (Representative Image Source: Pexels/Photo by GEORGE DESIPRIS)
A Gray Shark in water (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by GEORGE DESIPRIS)

The remains were roughly spotted 146 miles (235 kilometers) south of Lima. The fossil was estimated to be around nine million years old. As per the morphology of the preserved teeth, the remains belonged to that of a juvenile from the extinct species. Researchers were astounded by the exceptional condition of these fossils. The remains gave experts valuable insights regarding the species' anatomy and diet. Inside the shark's stomach, researchers detected several sardines, a type of small fish that is oily in texture. This made them speculate that these kinds of fish formed a crucial part of their diet. The finding aligns with what is known about the diet of now-thriving mackerel shark species like Carcharodon carcharias and Isurus oxyrinchus. The content of the fossilized stomach indicated to researchers the importance of schooling pilchards like sardines in the late Miocene marine ecosystem. 

Fossilisized remains of a shark (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Daniel Taipe Castillo)
Fossilisized remains of a shark (Representative Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Daniel Taipe Castillo)

Researchers believe the fossil was in such a state because of early mineralization. Such an exceptionally preserved fossil has enhanced the reputation of this location as a Fossil-Lagerstätte (sedimentary deposits containing remains in great condition) as per experts. This species could reach a height of seven meters which is comparable to White Shark. Similar to its successor this extinct mackerel shark also can tear down their prey. As per paleontological records, this species mostly roamed in the southern Pacific Ocean.

In recent years several shark fossils have been found, that have revealed some interesting insights regarding the being. The year 2024 saw the discovery of a shark species that had been on the radar of experts for decades, stated CNN. Researchers had long speculated that a genus of sharks roamed around the waters in the past, which grind and crush shelled creatures, rather than slicings. They were named Ptychodus, and their fossils were uncovered in Mexico. Findings regarding this fossil were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences



 

The fossils were spotted in limestone quarries. "The finding of the skeletal remains in Mexico not only allow us to unite these teeth that have been searching for a long time for a skeleton, but also allow us as scientists to revise our previous hypotheses regarding its biology and relationships and see what we got right and what we got wrong," said study coauthor, Dr. Eduardo Villalobos Segura, an assistant professor in the department of paleontology at the University of Vienna. The finding helped researchers get a better picture of the evolutionary pathway undertaken by sharks.

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