Goblin Shark(Extinct) Tooth ID#27

Common Name: Goblin Shark(Extinct)

Scientific Name: Scapanorhynchus texanus

Epoch:Lower

Fossil Type: Tooth

Fossil Size: 1.1 Inches 2.8 cm

Location Found: Alabama

Info about Scapanorhynchus

    It is an extinct sister lineage of sharks closely related to the modern goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni). Dating back to the Cretaceous period, these sharks are a part of the one of the longest surviving lineage of sharks. These sharks like their modern relatives have highly protrusible jaws and elongated rostrums. These sharks primarily were located in the twilight zone (1000m or .62 miles below the surface). These sharks likely located their deep sea prey primarily by utilizing their highly adapted ampullae of lorenzini giving them a form of advanced electroreception, like the modern relatives.

References:

Family mitsukurinidae:. Mitsukurinidae: Goblin Shark. (n.d.). http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/mitsukurinidae.htm

Goblin Shark. Discover Fishes. (n.d.-a). https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/goblin-shark/#:~:text=Smaller%20specimens%20have%20been%20seen%20near%20the,feet%20or%200.8%20miles)%20deep%20(Compagno%2C%202002).