Giant teenage shark from the Dinosaur-era

Hypothetical outlines of +Ptychodus showing the minimum and maximum size estimations for the sub-adult specimen from Spain. Patrick L. Jambura) - Fossil vertebrae give insights into growth and extinction of an enigmatic shark group Scientists of the University of Vienna examined parts of a vertebral column, which was found in northern Spain in 1996, and assigned it to the extinct shark group Ptychodontidae. In contrast to teeth, shark vertebrae bear biological information, like body size, growth, and age and allowed the team surrounding Patrick L. Jambura to gain new insights into the biology of this mysterious shark group. In 1996, palaeontologists found skeletal remains of a giant shark at the northern coast of Spain, near the city Santander. Here, the coast comprises meter high limestone walls that were deposited during the Cretaceous period, around 85 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the world. Scientists from the University of Vienna examined this material now and were able to assign the remains to the extinct shark family, Ptychodontidae, a group that was very specious and successful in the Cretaceous but suddenly vanished mysteriously before the infamous end-Cretaceous extinction event. Shark vertebrae are rare in the fossil record, but precious - Ptychodontid sharks are mainly known from their teeth, which are flattened and allowed them to crush hard-shelled prey, like bivalves or ammonites, similar to some of today's ray species.