Researchers found the fossilized teeth of an ancient megalodon ancestor in a shark cemetery in the Australian Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park, officials said this week.
They found these things while conducting a biodiversity study of the remote region in the Indian Ocean aboard the research vessel Investigator, which is run by Australia's national science organization CSIRO.
According to IFLScience, the researchers gathered the shark teeth and transported the rare items to Cocos Islands.
Researchers Find Fossilized Teeth From Modern Sharks
Researchers found a shark cemetery on the ocean floor during an Australian trip. According to La Prensa Latina, a trawl investigation at a depth of 5,400 meters discovered 750 fossilized shark teeth from several contemporary and extinct predatory species, including those of the progenitor of the dreaded megalodon, which is thought to have been between 10 and 19 meters in length.
Researchers noted in a statement that the teeth appear to be from both ancient and present sharks, including the direct progenitor of the enormous megalodon shark as well as mako and white sharks. The teeth most likely belonged to a megalodon, according to the experts.
Along with the teeth, the researchers also collected an Australian-only tiny, striped hornshark. It has yet to be given a name or a description, though.
Hornsharks are generally secretive and slow-moving because they prefer to spend the day hiding amid rocks and seaweed on the bottom before emerging at night to feed. The new striper hornshark is thought to exist in water that is at least 150 meters deep at this time.
About Shark Teeth
Many shark species have evolved distinct types of teeth that are employed for various purposes in order to defend their young and themselves. Sharks have blunt teeth in addition to their keen, menacing-looking teeth. The Megalodon also possesses up to five rows of teeth, like the majority of sharks.
To save the minerals they need to grow and produce new teeth to replace the ones lost, modern sharks have a restricted number of teeth. Sharks can lose at least one tooth per week on average, The Dental Center said. A brand-new tooth can develop in as little as 24 hours.
Ancient teeth were attached to the jaw, but contemporary teeth are attached to the maxilla, or upper jaw, which is one of the most significant changes between ancient and modern teeth.
CNET said sharks don't leave behind well preserved bones when they pass away since they are primarily formed of cartilage. Usually, scales and teeth are all that are left. Since fossils are essentially windows into the past, scientists utilize them to comprehend the richness of the oceans, both present and past. They also offer a means of comprehending the species in the region in more recent times.
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