#Paleontologists Unravel Secrets of Enigmatic 33-Foot Prehistoric #Shark After #Fossil Discovery
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/paleontologists-unravel-secrets-of-enigmatic-33-foot-prehistoric-shark-after-fossil-discovery-180984218/

Exceptionally preserved shark #fossils from #Mexico elucidate the long-standing enigma of the #Cretaceous elasmobranch Ptychodus https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.0262

"#Ptychodus has long been a classic example of teeth in search of a body... Now, they report it was likely a close relative of today’s great white sharks and crunched on hard-shelled creatures with unique grinding teeth"

Ptychodus decurrens hunting Neocardioceras juddii in Westphalia during the Late Cretaceous. Ptychodus has blunt teeth in order to crack shells.

#ptychodus #neocardioceras #shark #ammonite #cretaceous #latecretaceous #palaeontology #vertebrate_paleontology #fossil #fish #marinelife #animalart #watercolour #watercolourart #sciart #scientificillustration #westfalen

For #FossilFriday I want to share an amazing Ptychodus martini "shell-crusher" shark tooth I found in a gravel bar on a creek in #AustinTX.

It's a bit of a hike to this part of the creek, and when I sat my backpack down to rest for a bit, this gem was beneath the strap of my pack.

This is the largest of the 20+ Ptychodus teeth I've found on this creek, and the best preserved. It eroded out of the Austin Chalk, and is from about 85mya.

#Paleontology #Fossil #Ptychodus