Egypt's Western Desert reveals ancient shark graveyard

Scientists have discovered an ancient shark graveyard in the Abu Tartur Plateau of Egypt's Western Desert. During excavations conducted between 2020 and 2022, researchers recovered fossilized teeth belonging to at least seven different species of sharks.

The findings date back to the Late Cretaceous period, a time when much of the current desert was covered by shallow, warm tropical seas due to sea levels being up to 170 meters higher than today. The fossils were located within the Dawi Formation, a phosphate-rich layer known to have previously yielded fossils of fish, sea turtles, and marine reptiles.

Key discoveries include the first record of Scapanorhynchus raphiodon in Africa, as well as Serratolamna serrata and Squalicorax bassanii in Egypt. These findings provide significant evidence of a complex and diverse marine ecosystem that once thrived in the region.