Palaeontologists have found 14 shark teeth in an Egyptian desert that was once covered by a warm tropical sea. The teeth come from five shark species that lived 70 million years ago. Remains of two other shark species were previously found at the same sites, showing that the region once had an aquatic ecosystem. The study was published in Cretaceous Research.&nbsp;The fossils were found in the Abu-Tartur Plateau, in Egypt’s Western Desert and date back to the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, roughly 84 to 72 million years ago. The Duwi Formation here has preserved traces of the sea inside phosphate-rich rocks that were also found to be hiding these shark teeth.&nbsp;During the Late Cretaceous, global sea levels were higher, and Earth was warmer. Continents were covered with shallow seas, including deserts. Water reached deep inside the Sahara, with sharks and other marine creatures swimming here 84 million years ago. Today, the Sahara is the largest desert in the world.&nbsp;The teeth were found by a team of palaeontologists led by Tarek Yassin from Cairo University. They identified that the 14 teeth came from at least five species, all from the genus Lamniformes. Today, great whites, makos and goblin sharks belong to this category of sharks.&nbsp;The teeth are of different shapes. There are some that are narrow and pointed, which the sharks likely used to hold slippery prey. The broader teeth were suited for slicing.<h2>Shark teeth help reconstruct ancient environments</h2>Analysing shark teeth is also how scientists learn about ancient marine environments. Like most creatures, different sharks came from different regions. By learning which sharks lived in which parts of the continents, they can estimate what that region would have looked like millions of years ago.&nbsp;In this case, the Scapanorhynchus species that was found in the desert is believed to have lived in deeper water. Cretalamna and Serratolamna are associated with more open-shelf settings, while Squalicorax possibly came from shallower water.&nbsp;Discovering such diverse species in one region shows that the marine environment here was quite diverse. In the past, scientists have found fish, sea turtles and other marine reptiles in the Duwi Formation. This means that a sea capable of supporting diverse life forms was present here during the Late Cretaceous.&nbsp;Even though &nbsp;Abu-Tartur is dubbed "shark graveyard", it doesn't mean that all these sharks died here at the same time. Remains of marine animals from different times and environments gradually gathered here on the phosphate beds. It is possible that all these animals lived hundreds or thousands of years apart.&nbsp;

Shark teeth from at least five species have been found in Egypt's western desert of the Sahara. Fourteen of them were discovered and shed light on the marine environment of the region during the Late Creataceous, 70 million years ago. 

Palaeontologists have found 14 shark teeth in an Egyptian desert that was once covered by a warm tropical sea. The teeth come from five shark species that lived 70 million years ago. Remains of two other shark species were previously found at the same sites, showing that the region once had an aquatic ecosystem. The study was published in Cretaceous Research. The fossils were found in the Abu-Tartur Plateau, in Egypt’s Western Desert and date back to the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, roughly 84 to 72 million years ago. The Duwi Formation here has preserved traces of the sea inside phosphate-rich rocks that were also found to be hiding these shark teeth. During the Late Cretaceous, global sea levels were higher, and Earth was warmer. Continents were covered with shallow seas, including deserts. Water reached deep inside the Sahara, with sharks and other marine creatures swimming here 84 million years ago. Today, the Sahara is the largest desert in the world. The teeth were found by a team of palaeontologists led by Tarek Yassin from Cairo University. They identified that the 14 teeth came from at least five species, all from the genus Lamniformes. Today, great whites, makos and goblin sharks belong to this category of sharks. The teeth are of different shapes. There are some that are narrow and pointed, which the sharks likely used to hold slippery prey. The broader teeth were suited for slicing. Shark teeth help reconstruct ancient environments Analysing shark teeth is also how scientists learn about ancient marine environments. Like most creatures, different sharks came from different regions. By learning which sharks lived in which parts of the continents, they can estimate what that region would have looked like millions of years ago. In this case, the Scapanorhynchus species that was found in the desert is believed to have lived in deeper water. Cretalamna and Serratolamna are associated with more open-shelf settings, while Squalicorax possibly came from shallower water. Discovering such diverse species in one region shows that the marine environment here was quite diverse. In the past, scientists have found fish, sea turtles and other marine reptiles in the Duwi Formation. This means that a sea capable of supporting diverse life forms was present here during the Late Cretaceous. Even though Abu-Tartur is dubbed "shark graveyard", it doesn't mean that all these sharks died here at the same time. Remains of marine animals from different times and environments gradually gathered here on the phosphate beds. It is possible that all these animals lived hundreds or thousands of years apart.

Shark teeth from at least five species have been found in Egypt's western desert of the Sahara. Fourteen of them were discovered and shed light on the marine environment of the region during the Late Creataceous, 70 million years ago.&nbsp;

Palaeontologists find 14 shark teeth in Sahara desert from Late Cretaceous

Palaeontologists have uncovered evidence of a remarkably rich marine ecosystem that existed in what is now Egypt’s desert millions of years ago, identifying teeth from seven shark species in rocks formed from an ancient seabed. The fossils were found on the Abu-Tartur Plateau in Egypt’s Western Desert, within the phosphate-rich Duwi Formation. The area was once part of a shallow sea that covered large parts of northern Africa during the Cretaceous period, between about 145 million and 66 million years ago.The study, led by palaeontologist Tarek Yassin of Cairo University, was published in the journal Cretaceous Research under the title describing the shark assemblage from the Duwi Formation at Abu-Tartur.Researchers examined 14 previously unreported shark teeth and identified five species that had not been recorded from Abu-Tartur before: Cretalamna cf. maroccana, Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon, Serratolamna cf. serrata, Squalicorax bassanii and Squalicorax pristodontus. Two of them, Serratolamna cf. serrata and Squalicorax bassanii, are also new records for Egypt.One discovery was particularly significant. The needle-like teeth of Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon may represent the first known occurrence of the species in Africa and could be its youngest known fossil record, according to the researchers.The findings point to a highly productive marine environment, likely fuelled by ocean upwelling that brought nutrient-rich deep water toward the surface. This would have supported plankton, fish and invertebrates, creating a food web capable of sustaining several large shark predators.The researchers cautioned that the fossils do not prove all seven species lived in the area simultaneously. Limited sediment accumulation meant the phosphate deposits condensed remains from different periods and ecological settings.“The presence of Squalicorax could suggest an input from nearshore/inner shelf settings, while the occurrence of Scapanorhynchus reflects deeper-water conditions on the outer shelf and slope,” the researchers wrote.

Scientists have uncovered a 100-million-year-old shark graveyard in Egypt’s desert, with teeth from seven species revealing a once-thriving marine ecosystem along northern Africa.

Palaeontologists have uncovered evidence of a remarkably rich marine ecosystem that existed in what is now Egypt’s desert millions of years ago, identifying teeth from seven shark species in rocks formed from an ancient seabed. The fossils were found on the Abu-Tartur Plateau in Egypt’s Western Desert, within the phosphate-rich Duwi Formation. The area was once part of a shallow sea that covered large parts of northern Africa during the Cretaceous period, between about 145 million and 66 million years ago. The study, led by palaeontologist Tarek Yassin of Cairo University, was published in the journal Cretaceous Research under the title describing the shark assemblage from the Duwi Formation at Abu-Tartur. Researchers examined 14 previously unreported shark teeth and identified five species that had not been recorded from Abu-Tartur before: Cretalamna cf. maroccana, Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon, Serratolamna cf. serrata, Squalicorax bassanii and Squalicorax pristodontus. Two of them, Serratolamna cf. serrata and Squalicorax bassanii, are also new records for Egypt. One discovery was particularly significant. The needle-like teeth of Scapanorhynchus cf. raphiodon may represent the first known occurrence of the species in Africa and could be its youngest known fossil record, according to the researchers. The findings point to a highly productive marine environment, likely fuelled by ocean upwelling that brought nutrient-rich deep water toward the surface. This would have supported plankton, fish and invertebrates, creating a food web capable of sustaining several large shark predators. The researchers cautioned that the fossils do not prove all seven species lived in the area simultaneously. Limited sediment accumulation meant the phosphate deposits condensed remains from different periods and ecological settings. “The presence of Squalicorax could suggest an input from nearshore/inner shelf settings, while the occurrence of Scapanorhynchus reflects deeper-water conditions on the outer shelf and slope,” the researchers wrote.

Scientists have uncovered a 100-million-year-old shark graveyard in Egypt’s desert, with teeth from seven species revealing a once-thriving marine ecosystem along northern Africa.

Was Egypt’s desert once a shark-filled sea? Scientists uncover ancient ‘graveyard’

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Palaeontologists find 14 shark teeth in Sahara desert from Late Cretaceous

Was Egypt’s desert once a shark sea? Scientists uncover ancient graveyard