New species of shark identified through fossil at Mammoth Cave

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (WTVQ) — A new species of shark was discovered within a fossil at Mammoth Cave National Park, the National Park Service shared last week.

The new species, Strigilodus tollesonae, was discovered when several small spoon-like teeth were found in a cave wall and ceiling during a paleontological resources inventory.

The Strigilodus tollesonae was a type of extinct shark that’s more closely related to modern ratfish than to other modern sharks and rays, NPS said. The teeth were arranged in a fan-like structure with a large tooth in the middle and three other teeth, decreasing size, next to it. Each tooth had a single rounded curved cusp for clipping and grasping hard shell prey, while the inner/tongue side of the tooth was long with ridges for crushing. Strigilodus tollesonae may have lived like a modern skate, feeding on snails, bivalves, soft-bodied worms and smaller fish.

Mammoth Cave will celebrate the discovery of the Strigilodus tollesonae and other fossils found within the cave system on Monday, Oct. 23.

More information about the event will be released closer to the event date.