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Paleontologists have found a new species of ancient shark at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. The discovery came after several small spoon-like teeth were found in a cave wall and ceiling during ongoing paleontological research in the area.
The shark has been named Strigilodus tollesonae, and the National Park Service states that it was more closely related to modern ratfish than to modern sharks and rays. The name translates to “Tolleson’s Scraper Tooth,” in honor of Mammoth Cave National Park Guide Kelli Tolleson. Based on the shape and structure of the shark’s fan-like teeth, paleontologists believe it may have lived like a modern skate, feeding on snails, bivalves, soft bodied worms, and smaller fish.
The extinct shark species was discovered within the St. Genevieve Formation rock layer at Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky. Mammoth Cave National Park has been the site of an ongoing paleontological resources inventory (PRI) since November 2019, when shark fossil specialist John-Paul Hodnett of the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission began to work with the NPS Paleontology Program to identify shark fossils in the region. At least 70 species of ancient fish have been identified there, but this is the first new shark species.
“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, ” said Superintendent Barclay Trimble of the National Park service. “Their important research allows us to better understand the scope, significance, distribution, and management issues associated with the fossil record found within Mammoth Cave.”
