The incredible new kind of shark

It is called Macadens Olsoni. Where has it been discovered? Inside the world's longest cave system: Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky). The incredible new kind of shark has unique characteristics.

Macadens Olsoni stands out for its unique dental spiral. It is a teeth curved row designed to crush small sea creatures. This old shark probably measured less than 30 centimeters long and probably fed on mollusks and worms.

340 million years

Macadens Olsoni fossils were found in the Ste. Genevieve. Date approximately 340 to 335 million years. During that time, Mammoth Cave was submerged in a warm and shallow sea, full of life, including crinoid and corals. The cave system itself is much younger and formed only about 10 to 15 million years. It was when the water from the rivers and surface streams sank into the rock and excavated the passages of the cave found today. Thus reports the US National Parks Service.

The exact length of Mammoth Cave is unknown. But speleologists have mapped more than 686 kilometers and continue to discover new passages. It houses a treasure of old fish fossils. To date, more than 70 different species have been identified, missing a long time ago, between its walls. The incredible new kind of shark is among these.

Cog

The name Macadens Olsoni pays tribute to both Mammoth Cave and Rickard Olson. He is a retired scientist from the park who played a crucial role in the documentation of shark fossils there. He was part of a recent inventory of paleontological resources (PRI). The research was conducted by a team of scientists from the Paleontology program of the US National Parks. The Mammoth Cave National Park and the Smithsonian Paleobiology Department collaborated.

In addition to Macadens Olsoni, the researchers studied another old shark, Helodus Coxanus, now called rotuladens. This means "wheel tooth." This species shares similarities with Macadens Olsoni and highlights the diversity of ancient marine life.