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A giant fossil was discovered on a Canadian farm almost fifty years ago. Inside, to much surprise, was a shark renamed Dave, the only skeleton of Fossil Shark almost entirely never found in Canada, and one of the four or five largest in the world.
Hidden in storage at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center (CFDC) in Morden for decades, covered with a thick layer of plaster to protect it from the elements and air, today it has finally found its place in a major public exhibition. The researchers discovered something amazing: Dave is a very special shark and he could be one too the only specimen of a species that has never been seen before.
Dave the great fossil shark
After nearly forty years in a plaster shell, Dave the Shark has finally found his place in the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center (CFDC) in Morden and even the public can admire it in all its glory.
It is one of the oldest sharks in the world and a real rarity in the world of fossils: “It is not very common to find sharks, because shark skeletons are made of cartilage, a soft material – said Adolfo Cuetara, executive director of the CDFC -. Usually we only find shark teeth… In this case we have the opposite. We have the whole skeleton of a shark, a large one, but without teeth. This is something very special for science.”
The director also highlighted Dave’s unique story. How was it possible to keep it hidden for so long? Cuetara explained that its discovery dates back to 1975, the year that bentonite mining began on a farm site in Morden, Manitoba. At this point, the great shark fossil was found, carefully extracted by paleontologists, and finally taken to the depot of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Center.
There he was forgotten, as is often the case when many fossil remains are extracted at once. Then the turning point eight years ago.
Shark Dave, the hypothesis of a new species
Eight years ago, researchers dusted off many forgotten fossils from museum storage, including Dave. Director Cuetara said that to his surprise, everyone understood immediately Feeling like it wasn’t the usual ancient sharkbut of a new species, of which Dave would be the only specimen yet discovered.
Almost five meters long, the skeleton of this special shark has revealed a lot really unique properties: “The shape of the jaws and skull and the type of structures it has, given that the preservation is truly amazing, tell us that It is probably a new speciesCuetara said, adding that from now on he and his team of experts will work tirelessly to understand exactly what species it is.
At first glance, the researchers thought it was an ancient basking shark, but initial analysis completely disproved this hypothesis. However, when compared to more modern species, Dave falls short a lot similar to the whale shark.