Cladoselache was a 6 foot long primitive proto-shark which lived during the late Devonian Period 370-360 million years ago. Several publications from the 20th Century state that Cladoselache was the oldest-known shark. However, studies from the early 2000s onwards have… Read More ›
fish
Stethacanthus
Stethacanthus was a primitive proto-shark which swam the seas from the late Devonian Period to the end of the Carboniferous Period approximately 380-300 million years ago. Fossils of various species of this genus have been found worldwide. Stethacanthus is distinctive… Read More ›
Diplodoselache
Diplodoselache, meaning “double-toothed shark”, was a prehistoric freshwater proto-shark which lived in Scotland during the early Carboniferous Period 345-330 million years ago. Teeth of this animal were discovered in the Wardie Shale Formation of Scotland’s Midland Valley during the 1840s,… Read More ›
Onchopristis
Onchopristis was a 4 meter (13 foot) long sawfish which lived during the middle Cretaceous Period approximately 105-95 million years ago. Onchopristis belonged to the sub-order Sclerorhynchoidei of the order Rajiformes, “ray-shaped”. Despite a superficial resemblance to a modern-day sawfish,… Read More ›
Xiphactinus
There are many iconic predators of the Seven Seas: the Great White Shark, the Killer Whale, the Giant Squid, and others. In prehistoric times, the list of “epic marine killers” was much longer. One of those who definitely deserves a… Read More ›
Concavotectum
Concavotectum was a 6 foot long fish which lived in Morocco during the middle Cretaceous Period 100 million years ago. Concavotectum, which was named in 2008 from a single skull, belonged to the family Plethodidae. The plethodids first appeared during… Read More ›
Cladocyclus
Cladocyclus was a 4 foot long saltwater fish which lived around South America and Australia during the middle Cretaceous Period 110-100 million years ago. The famous Swiss ichthyologist Louis Agassiz coined the name Cladocyclus in 1841. The name, which means… Read More ›
Asteracanthus
Asteracanthus was a 6 foot long hybodont shark which lived from the middle Jurassic Period to the middle Cretaceous Period 165-100 million years ago. Unlike most prehistoric sharks which are known only from teeth, Asteracanthus is also known from some… Read More ›
Cretalamna
Cretalamna, meaning “chalk shark”, was a 10 foot long shark which lived from the middle Cretaceous Period to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period 105-46 million years ago. Cretalamna was one of the first so-called “modern” sharks to appear…. Read More ›
Cretodus
Cretodus, meaning “chalk tooth”, was a 22 foot long shark which lived throughout the world during the middle to late Cretaceous Period 100-85 million years ago. Cretodus was one of the first “modern” sharks to appear on earth during the… Read More ›