There’s a shark graveyard below the ocean’s surface? A shark is one of the most vicious and dangerous mammals in the world. With their sharp teeth, black eyes and speed, one can never escape their deathly grip once these human-eating animals sense our blood.
If you’re afraid of sharks, it’s called Galeophobia. It makes you anxious, sweating, nauseous and dizzy. It’s an existing phobia that many experiences around the world.
Recently, a team of scientists discovered an ancient shark graveyard teeming with teeth. What makes this more terrifying is they are hiding 5,000 metres below the Indian Ocean!
Did you know? Some of the teeth aged millions of years old. They may belong directly to the ancestor of the Megalodon shark!
How did these scientists discover the shark graveyard?
IFLS reported marine scientists found the graveyard while conducting a biodiversity survey around Cocos Island. It’s in a secluded part of the Indian Ocean.
As posted on the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s (CSIRO) website, the crew dropped a weighted net from the side of the Investigator, the research ship, to dredge material from the ocean floor.
However, the small sampling of the seabed hauled over 750 shark teeth, which some are millions of years old!
Sharks aren’t like dinosaurs
Although they have been a fixture in Earth’s ocean for the past 450 million years, their remains don’t usually survive with time, unlike dinosaurs. Why? Their skeletons are made from cartilage and not bones. This substance doesn’t survive long to be fossilised.
Shark skeletons are rare. But shark teeth are durable. It’s because they are made from dentine and enamel-like tissue. They can survive for hundreds of millions of years.
Discovered teeth belong to many shark species
The scientist behind this fascinating discovery said that the teeth belong to a range of different shark species. Not only that but some were deposited millions ago.
Dr Glenn Moore, the writer of fishes at the Western Australian Museum, said, “The teeth look to come from modern sharks, such as mako and white sharks, but also ancient sharks, including the immediate ancestor of the giant megalodon shark.”
He added, “This shark evolved into the megalodon, which was the largest of all sharks but died out about 3.5 million years ago.”
What is a Megalodon?
Megalodon is one of the greatest predators to exist in the ocean. They grow up to 18 metres length-wise and easily devour prey the size of a killer whale. Also, they could do this in only five bites!
Moreover, the team of scientists also discovered a new species while on the trip. They are the stripy horn shark found on the coast of Western Australia.
This slow-moving breed lives in shallow waters. Heads up! They could also hide among seaweed during the day before they fill their tummies at night!
We’re crossing our fingers, hoping these dead sharks won’t rise from the graveyard and bite us all!
Sources: IGN Southeast Asia, Phys.Org, CSIRO, IFLS