A team of scientists recently announced the discovery of a new fossil shark species in the US state of Alabama. The team consisted of Jun Eberson, Director of Collections at McEwan Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama, D**id Cicimurri, Curator of Natural History at the State Museum of South Carolina, Colombia, and T. T., paleontologist and curator of the Fossil Collection at the Alabama Geological Survey in Tuscaloosa lynn harrell， jr.Leadership.
Sharks are a new species of palaeohypotodus (pronounced pale-ee-oh-hype-oh-toe-duss), meaning "ancient small ear teeth", referring to the small needle-like fangs on either side of the teeth. It was named Palaeohypotodus Bizzocoi in honor of the late Dr. Bruce Bizzoco (1949-2022) in Birmingham, Alabama. Bizzoco has served as the dean of Sheldon State Community College, an archaeologist, and is a longtime volunteer at the McWayn Science Center. This species is named in honor of Dr. Bizzoco's lifelong commitment to educating and preserving Alabama's history.
According to Ebersol, the discovery of this shark was accidental.
One day a few years ago, I stepped into the Alabama Geological Survey to peruse the historic fossil collection. By accident, I found a box of shark teeth that were collected in Wilcox County a hundred years ago. Despite the vicissitudes of life, they still shine with mysterious brilliance. Over the past decade, I've been researching and documenting hundreds of fish fossils. However, as I gazed at these unusual teeth, I felt a hint of confusion. I have never seen or heard of the sharks to which these teeth belong. They seem to come from another world and challenge my perception of biodiversity. And when I went deeper, I realized that these teeth are not simple. They belong to a new species, a miracle that has not yet been discovered in the scientific community. I was thrilled by this discovery, and I knew that the box of teeth I was holding in my hand would be an important clue to the mysteries of nature. Newbie Mentoring Program
Perhaps one of the coolest aspects of this shark is when it lived – the Paleocene, about 65 million years ago," Cicimurri said. This was the period after the death of the dinosaurs, and more than 75% of life on Earth became extinct.
According to Cicimurri, this shark is the main predator during the recovery of the ocean.
In Alabama, much of the southern half of the state was covered by shallow tropical to ** zones during the Paleocene. "There has been a lack of research during this time, which makes the discovery of this new shark species even more important," Harrell said.
Shark discoveries like these give us a great insight into how marine life recovers after a major extinction event, and also allow us to potentially ** how global events such as climate change affect marine life today," Harrell continued.
As part of their study of this ancient shark, the team compared fossilized teeth to those of various living sharks, such as great white sharks and Marcos sharks. According to Cicimurri, the shape of a shark's teeth depends on their location in the mouth.
By studying the jaws and teeth of a live shark, it allowed us to reconstruct the teeth of this ancient species and showed that its tooth arrangement was different from that of any live shark," Cicimurri said.
The shark's naming is part of an ongoing project led by Ebersole and Cicimurri to document fossil fish in Alabama. Together, they identified more than 400 unique shark and bony fish fossils, which, according to Ebersole says, makes Alabama one of the richest places in the world in terms of fish fossil diversity.
Reference: "A New Species of Palaeohypotodus Glückman, 1964 (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) from the Lower Paleocene (Danian) Porters Creek Formation, Wilcox County, Alabama, USA" by Jun A. ebersole、d**id j.Cicimurri and T lynn harrell jr., February 7, 2024, fossil record.
doi： 10.3897/fr.27.e112800