Ancient relative of the great white sharkMost species of Ptychodus lived between 100 and 80 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. Because shark skeletons are made of cartilage, they do not fossilize well, typically leaving archaeologists only teeth and few skeletal remains to find. Lamniformes also includes the modern species of megamouth, sand, goblin and basking sharks, among others. “The crushing teeth together with the gigantic size make Ptychodus a very unique shark,” Amadori said. … Modern durophagous sharks (that consume hard-shelled organisms) are demersal, feeding on or near the bottom.

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Persons: ”, Eduardo Villalobos Segura, Villalobos Segura, Lamniformes, Manuel Amadori, Amadori, Michael Everhart, Louis Agassiz, Everhart, mortoni, —, ” Amadori, “, Jürgen, Bretton Kent, ” Kent Organizations: CNN, Royal Society, Biological Sciences, University of Vienna, Sternberg, Nuevo León, University of Maryland Locations: Mexico, Austria, Nuevo León, Vallecillo, Nuevo, Hays , Kansas, Ptychodus