MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. — A new species of shark was discovered within Mammoth Cave National Park, according to the National Park Service.
Specifically, it's a new species of petalodont shark. It was discovered when several small, spoon-like teeth were found in a cave wall and ceiling during an ongoing paleontological resources inventory, the park service said.
The national park service made the announcement on Oct. 11, National Fossil Day.
"We are excited to finally announce the discovery of our first new shark species at Mammoth Cave on NFD," said Barclay Trimble, superintendent, in a press release. "Teams of geologists, paleontologist, park staff, and volunteers have been hard at work deep inside the cave identifying and collecting fossils since the paleontological resources inventory began in 2019. Their important research allows us to better understand the scope, significance, distribution, and management issues associated with the fossil record found within Mammoth Cave."
The teeth found in the cave walls and ceiling at Mammoth Cave were found within the Ste. Genevieve Formation rock layer and represent all known tooth positions on the mouth of both adult and juvenile sharks.
"The teeth were arranged in a fan-like structure with a large tooth in the middle and three other teeth, decreasing size, next to it," reads the press release from the National Park Service. "Each tooth had a single rounded curved cusp for clipping and grasping hard shell prey, while the inner/tongue side of the tooth was long with ridges for crushing."
The species of shark was dubbed Strigilodus tollesonae — which means "Tolleson's Scraper Tooth — in honor of Mammoth Cave National Park guide Kelli Tolleson. The park service said Tolleson discovered many important fossils throughout her work with the park and has led expeditions to fossil sites that are more limited in accessibility.
The National Park Service said the creature was a kind of extinct shark more closely related to a modern ratfish than to sharks and rays alive today.
The National Park Service said the new shark species likely lived less like a Great White and more like a modern skate, feeding on snails, bivalves, soft-bodied worms and smaller fish.
It's not the first time an ancient species has been tied to Mammoth Cave. At least 70 species of ancient fish have been identified within the park from surveys performed in 25 caves and cave passages.
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