Shark From 80 Million Years Ago Is Still Alive – It Has a Snake’s Head and Insane Teeth
Frilled sharks are one of the oldest shark species. They are also called as “living fossils”. Image credit: Citron
The frilled shark is quite unusual compared to other sharks; it has more primitive traits and appearance (hence the name living fossil), with a long, slender body and a snake-like head. It isn’t a particularly good swimmer, and its bite force isn’t that strong either, but perhaps what distinguishes it most from all other shark species is its teeth. Its jaw is lined with hundreds and hundreds of backward-facing trident-shaped teeth, each forked into three nasty prongs. This setup helps the animal grasp and devour its prey in sudden lunges.
David A. Ebert, director of the Pacific Shark Research Center, had a literal firsthand experience with the nightmarish jaw of a frilled shark. – “I can tell you from snagging my fingers on the teeth, you can only back out one way and that’s in toward the mouth and then out. It didn’t feel good, I can tell you that.”
The frilled shark is quite unusual compared to other sharks; it has more primitive traits and appearance (hence the name living fossil), with a long, slender body and a snake-like head. It isn’t a particularly good swimmer, and its bite force isn’t that strong either, but perhaps what distinguishes it most from all other shark species is its teeth. Its jaw is lined with hundreds and hundreds of backward-facing trident-shaped teeth, each forked into three nasty prongs. This setup helps the animal grasp and devour its prey in sudden lunges.
David A. Ebert, director of the Pacific Shark Research Center, had a literal firsthand experience with the nightmarish jaw of a frilled shark. – “I can tell you from snagging my fingers on the teeth, you can only back out one way and that’s in toward the mouth and then out. It didn’t feel good, I can tell you that.”
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24 August 2023
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