Digging Out Sharks Teeth

May 29, 2009

You never know what you'll find when you dig.

Amateur paleontologists have discovered that some three million years ago, eel-like sharks snaked through the Chianti, the region that now supports Tuscany's finest vineyards.

Indeed, hundreds of fossilized teeth belonging to primitive shark-like creatures have been uncovered near the village of Castelnuovo Berardenga, not far from Siena.

The teeth turned out to belong to Chlamydoselachus lawleyi, a species which strongly resembles the living frilled shark Chlamydoselachus anguineus.

Along with the Chlamydoselachus shark teeth, the team from the Mineralogy and Paleontology Group of Scandicci unearthed other fossils which included otoliths (ear stones which in fish play a role in hearing and balance) and teeth from other deep-water sharks.

According to Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist who authored "The First Fossil Hunters," a book which explores the connection between Greek and Roman myths and the fossil beds around the Mediterranean, “these fossil shark teeth and fish earbones (otoliths) were collected by ancient Romans for medicine--and to neutralize poison assassination attempts.”

Indeed, calcium in fossils can absorb arsenic.

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_{Picture courtesy of Franco Cigala Fulgosi}

Comments

[Jimzip]

"[...] three million years ago, eel-like sharks snaked through the Chianti [...]"

Fantastic! The concept seems strange when comparing it to today's Tuscany, imagine walking along that river and actually seeing these creatures drifting along in the waters ... creepy.

Jimzip :D