Scientists Uncover 7 Shark Species in Egypt's Western Desert, Including 1 First Reported in Africa
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 27
Scientists Uncover 7 Shark Species in Egypt's Western Desert, Including 1 First Reported in Africa
3 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Aug 27
Summary
Fourteen fossilized shark teeth found on Egypt's Abu-Tartur Plateau between 2020 and 2022 lifted the site's tally to seven species, according to an Aug. 18 study in Cretaceous Research.
The teeth came from phosphate-rich rocks in the Late Cretaceous Duwi Formation, supporting evidence that the now-arid plateau was once a shallow sea with warm, oxygenated, nutrient-rich waters.
Scapanorhynchus raphiodon — an ancient relative of today's goblin shark — had not previously been reported in Africa, while Serratolamna serrata and Squalicorax bassanii were new records for Egypt.
Researchers said the concentration of shark remains points to a complex marine ecosystem, though the species may not all have lived there at the same time because sediments could have mixed the fossils over time.
The find adds to earlier discoveries of fish, sea turtle and marine reptile fossils in the region, and the team plans further searches across the plateau.