- Title: REFILE: Great white shark's 9-million-year-old ancestor found in Peru
- Date: 20th January 2025
- Summary: LIMA, PERU (JANUARY 20, 2025) (REUTERS) SHARK FOSSILIZED JAW AND VERTEBRAE FOSSILIZED SHARK JAW WITH TEETH PALEONTOLOGISTS AND GEOLOGICAL, MINING AND METALLURGIC INSTITUTE (INGEMMET) AUTHORITIES OBSERVING THE SHARK FOSSIL SHARK FOSSIL ENGINEER IN THE PALEONTOLOGY AREA OF INGEMMET, CESAR AUGUSTO CHACALTANA, POINTING OUT PARTS OF THE SHARK FOSSIL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ENGINEER IN THE PALEONTOLOGY AREA OF INGEMMET, CESAR AUGUSTO CHACALTANA, SAYING: "We are presenting a fossilized shark from the Pisco basin (REFERRING TO: Pisco river basin south of Lima), specifically from the Pisco formation, dated 9 million years ago. This shark fossil is called Cosmopolitodus hastalis and was the result of joint work by three institutions." CHACALTANA POINTING OUT PARTS OF THE SHARK FOSSIL CHACALTANA SHOWING PARTS OF THE SHARK FOSSIL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ENGINEER IN THE PALEONTOLOGY AREA OF INGEMMET, CESAR AUGUSTO CHACALTANA, SAYING: "Today, being Peru's National Paleontology Day, we are presenting fossils, and in this case, the shark we are showing is an example of exceptional fossilization for the world. It is the Cosmopolitodus hastalis, the ancestor of the modern great white shark. This species no longer exists; it has become extinct, but the great white shark still exists." JAW OF A 36-MILLION-YEAR-OLD CROCODILIAN FOSSIL CALLED BASILOSAURUS CROCODILIAN FOSSIL ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PALEONTOLOGIST, MARIO URBINA SCHMITT, SAYING: "It is a pelagic shark. Inside it, we found stomach contents and many sardines. At that time, there were no anchovies, so sardines formed the essence of the diet for all marine animals."
- Embargoed: 3rd February 2025 22:00
- Keywords: Extinct shark Fossil Paleontology Peru
- Location: LIMA, PERU / GRAPHIC
- City: LIMA, PERU / GRAPHIC
- Country: Peru
- Topics: South America / Central America,Life Sciences,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA001486920012025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Paleontologists in Peru on Monday (January 20) unveiled the 9-million-year-old fossil of a relative of the great white shark that once inhabited the waters of the southern Pacific Ocean, where it liked to devour sardines.
The nearly-complete Cosmopolitodus Hastalis fossil was found some 235 km (146 miles) south of Lima in Peru's Pisco basin, a hot, desert area famed for frequent discoveries of ancient marine species.
The shark is believed to be an ancestor of the great white shark. It is now extinct, but its teeth once spanned up to 8.9 cm (3.5 inches) in length, while adults could grow to near seven meters in length - the size of a small boat.
Cesar Augusto Chacaltana, an engineer at the Peruvian Geological and Mining Institute (INGEMMET), said at a presentation the shark's remains showed "exceptional fossilization."
Researchers presented the ancient shark's remains in several glass urns, including one containing a giant, sharp-toothed jaw.
Paleontologist Mario Urbina added at the presentation that remains of numerous sardines were found inside the fossil's stomach. Urbina noted that as anchovies did not yet exist when the shark roamed the open seas and oceans, sardines formed a staple diet for marine predators.
Peruvian paleontologists in November presented the fossil of a young crocodile that lived more than 10 million years ago off central Peru, where Pisco and the agricultural region of Ica are found.
In April last year, researchers displayed the fossilized skull of the largest river dolphin known to date, which once inhabited the Amazon some 16 million years ago.
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