Fossilised remains of great white shark-sized fish discovered after being mistaken for flying reptile
4 years, 1 month ago

Fossilised remains of great white shark-sized fish discovered after being mistaken for flying reptile

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Fossilised remains of a fish that grew as big as a great white shark have been discovered after a fossil collector mistook them for a giant flying reptile. “The collector was mightily disappointed he didn't have a pterosaur skull, but my colleagues and I were thrilled as no coelacanth has ever been found in the phosphate deposits of Morocco, and this example was absolutely massive.” Prof Martill teamed up with leading Brazilian palaeontologist Dr Paulo Brito, of the State University of Rio de Janeiro, to identify the fossil, and the study has been published in Cretaceous Research. It was astonishing to deduce that this particular fish was enormous - quite a bit longer than the length of a stand-up paddleboard and likely the largest coelacanth ever discovered.” The fossil is now being returned to Morocco, where it will be added to the collections in the Department of Geology at Hassan II University of Casablanca.

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History of this topic

Fossilized skeletons of aerial and aquatic predators to be auctioned by Sotheby’s
1 year, 8 months ago

Fossilized skeletons of aerial and aquatic predators to be auctioned by Sotheby’s

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The fossilized skeletons of an …

Ancient shark-like fish appeared much earlier than previously thought – study
2 years, 6 months ago

Ancient shark-like fish appeared much earlier than previously thought – study

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. A handful of fossil teeth from …

Giant marine reptile skull discovery reveals new evolutionary theories
3 years, 3 months ago

Giant marine reptile skull discovery reveals new evolutionary theories

CNN  

CNN — The discovery of a giant marine reptile skull in the United States has revealed new theories about the speed of evolution and how quickly the process can produce diversity. The skull analysis was part of a larger research effort undertaken by an international team in order to understand how quickly body size evolved in ichthyosaurs when compared to …

Fish once labeled a living fossil surprises scientists again
3 years, 9 months ago

Fish once labeled a living fossil surprises scientists again

Live Mint  

The coelacanth - a wondrous fish that was thought to have gone extinct along with the dinosaurs 66 million years ago before unexpectedly being found alive and well in 1938 off South Africa's east coast - is offering up even more surprises. The researchers used annual growth rings deposited on the fish's scales to determine the age of individual coelacanths …

Giant, weird-looking coelacanth fish lived for up to 100 years, finds study
3 years, 9 months ago

Giant, weird-looking coelacanth fish lived for up to 100 years, finds study

Firstpost  

The females don’t hit sexual maturity until their late 50s and one pregnancy lasted five years. The coelacanth — a giant weird fish still around from dinosaur times — can live for 100 years, a new study found. But by applying a standard technique for dating commercial fish, French scientists calculated they actually live close to a century, according to …

Fossil of Bizarre Ancient Shark with a 5-Feet-Long Fin Has Left Scientists Amazed
4 years ago

Fossil of Bizarre Ancient Shark with a 5-Feet-Long Fin Has Left Scientists Amazed

News 18  

About 93 million years ago, a bizarre plankton-eating shark-shaped unlike any other known marine creature glided through the sea in what is now northeastern Mexico using curiously elongated wing-like fins that rendered its body wider than it was long. Aquilolamna’s name means “eagle shark,” a nod to its slender pectoral fins, which “mainly acted as an effective stabilizer,” according to …

Man finds tooth of biggest shark to ever live
4 years ago

Man finds tooth of biggest shark to ever live

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A fossil hunter has found an enormous shark tooth, that was …

Living Fossil: African coelacanth is not 65 mn years-old as evolution is evident in its genes
4 years, 1 month ago

Living Fossil: African coelacanth is not 65 mn years-old as evolution is evident in its genes

Firstpost  

The fish went on to earn the moniker ’living fossil’ because of its anatomy that resembled fossilised records. While the fish went on to earn the moniker ’living fossil’ because of its anatomy that resembled fossilised records, researchers from the University of Toronto have now said that the genome of the ancient coelacanth tells a whole different story. According to …

Megalodon shark fossils suggest that newborns were larger than adult humans: Study
4 years, 2 months ago

Megalodon shark fossils suggest that newborns were larger than adult humans: Study

Firstpost  

A new study has now found that newborn Megalodon sharks were supersized fish that were larger than most adult humans. As per a study conducted by paleobiologist Kenshu Shimada of DePaul University in Chicago along with his colleagues, the body size of the iconic gigantic Megalodon or megatooth shark, about 50 feet in length, was much larger compared to body …

Giant fish from 380 million years ago was a suspension feeder
4 years, 10 months ago

Giant fish from 380 million years ago was a suspension feeder

Daily Mail  

A giant fish that lived around 380 million years ago fed in a similar way to basking sharks, the second-largest living shark in the world today, scientists report. Titanichthys jaws were less resilient than those of other placoderm species that fed on large or hard-shelled prey during the so-called Devonian period – 140 million years before the first dinosaurs roamed …

Fossils show massive T-Rex, small ancient carpet shark as neighbors eons ago
6 years, 2 months ago

Fossils show massive T-Rex, small ancient carpet shark as neighbors eons ago

Firstpost  

We found microscopic shark teeth right beside bones of the largest predators of all time: Researcher. Scientists conducting a painstaking examination of two tons of rocks left over after the fossilized bones of the celebrated Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue, extricated in the 1990s, came across a surprise: shark teeth. Galagadon, related to a group called carpet sharks found in Indo-Pacific …

Prehistoric shark with 'spaceship-shaped' teeth discovered in ancient riverbed
6 years, 2 months ago

Prehistoric shark with 'spaceship-shaped' teeth discovered in ancient riverbed

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Tiny teeth sifted from over two tonnes of prehistoric earth revealed a bottom-dwelling creature similar …

Fossil find may be dolphin-like reptile
8 years, 2 months ago

Fossil find may be dolphin-like reptile

China Daily  

A fossil found in limestone along a remote South Texas riverbed could be that of a dolphin-like reptile that swam in oceans 90 million years ago, according to paleontologists. The discovery was made two years ago by petroleum geologist James Harcourt, who works for the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry. The fossil was found …

Now THAT's a sea monster: Massive shark longer than a TWO-STOREY building hunted the oceans 100 million years ago
9 years, 9 months ago

Now THAT's a sea monster: Massive shark longer than a TWO-STOREY building hunted the oceans 100 million years ago

Daily Mail  

been two top predators in the Early Cretaceous seas If you thought the great white shark in Jaws was as scary as sharks get, think again. The specimen, believed to be Leptostyrax macrorhiza, is thought to have measured 20ft long, which while big, wasn't as large as an unknown Kansas specimen from the Early Cretaceous The sea monster, called Leptostyrax …

Scientists discover a 52ft fish that would have weighed more than two double-decker buses and lived 160 million years ago
11 years, 8 months ago

Scientists discover a 52ft fish that would have weighed more than two double-decker buses and lived 160 million years ago

Daily Mail  

Scientists discover a 52ft fish that would have weighed more than two double-decker buses and lived 160 million years ago The giant Leedsichthys fish lived 160 million years ago Fossils show it could have grown to 52ft - longer than a swimming pool It would have been bigger than modern-day whale sharks and weighed the same as two double-decker buses …

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