New shark species found in Kentucky

Mammoth Cave is the world's largest known cave system with over 400 miles of cave. Kentucky is landlocked today. However, recently recovered fossils indicate that Kentucky might have been a waterway shoreline location 325 million years ago, before the shaping of the super-continent Pangea.

Kentucky was a part of a water-way shoreline, about 325 million years ago. This waterway likely helped develop Mammoth Cave.Photo byPangea, Kentucky

Fossils from the Troglocladodus trimblei and and Glikmanius careforum were found in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave. The genus name Troglocladodus trimblei means, ‘Cave Cladodus’ or ‘Cave Branching Tooth.' St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve Formations of Mammoth Cave pathways were created through water's interaction with limestone, about 10 million years ago, though the cave itself is over 320 million years old. Troglocladodus trimblei is estimated to have been from 10-12 feet long and resemble the modern oceanic whitetip shark.

Rendering of prehistoric sharks like the fossils found in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave.Photo byBENJI PAYNOSE

The Glikmanius careforum was identified based on teeth and fossils found in the caverns of St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, and Haney Formations at Mammoth Cave. Glikmanius is expected to have had the same length of 10-12 feet long, and have a makeup similar to the modern oceanic whitetip shark.

This is the jawline of a Glikmanius fossil found in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky indicating the shark's historic presence in Kentucky.Photo byNational Parks Service

For the Glikmanius, a fossil of a jaw was found. The jaw shape indicates a short head with a strong bite. This suggests that the shark would have hunted other smaller sharks, squid, and bony fish.

Since 2019, Mammoth Cave has been working with the The Paleontological Resources Inventory to find over 70 species of historic fish from over 25 caves and passages. Superintendent Barclay Trimble, credits collaborations as a valuable tool for cave discoveries,

“Our park team is honored to work alongside the National Park Service Paleontology Program and now the University of Alabama Geological Sciences Department whose coordinated efforts have made this latest announcement possible.”

You can visit Mammoth Cave National Park at Mammoth Cave Parkway Mammoth Cave, KY 42259-0007, and find some discoveries of your own.

Source:

Forbes