[Rockhounds] ANCIENT SHARKS DISCOVERED IN KENTUCKY'S MAMMOTH CAVE

[Alan Goldstein]

One of our local TV stations featured that story. The Middle to Upper Mississippian limestones (dominated by the Ste. Genevieve Limestone) is quite thick in that area. And while shark teeth and spines are rare, the acreage of underground exposures makes it possible to find shark remains if you look long and hard enough. In the 1980s I did a lot of cave in Kentucky and a little in Tennessee and I noted many fossils in the walls and ceilings. My observations in decreasing abundance: brachiopods, rugose corals, gastropods, shark teeth and spines and tabulate corals. I don't count crinoid columns because they are tiny and ubiquitous. In small caves in the thinner limestone beds, Pentremites blastoids can be seen.

I've found numerous shark teeth over the years, some in rich bone beds and others isolated. The older Muldraugh and Salem formations are particularly rich. The younger famous Upper Mississippian Sulphur IN road cut is also well-documented. The abundance of new species is most likely because the Ste. Genevieve Limestone is miserly with shark teeth compared to earlier and later formations in the Mississippian. It's hard to find good teeth because the limestone is fairly dense (which is why it is so heavily quarried for aggregate).

It's fun to see a paleontological story on the news.

Alan G.

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From: Rockhounds <rockhounds-bounces at rockhounds.drizzle.com> on behalf of Kreigh Tomaszewski <kreigh at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2020 10:27 AM
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Subject: [Rockhounds] ANCIENT SHARKS DISCOVERED IN KENTUCKY'S MAMMOTH CAVE

he fossilized remains of six species of ancient shark previously unknown to
science have been unearthed in Mammoth Cave National Park
<https://www.newsweek.com/head-giant-330-million-year-old-shark-wall-kentucky-cave-1484825>
in
Kentucky, with researchers hailing the site as "one of the most diverse
Mississippian shark faunas in North America."

The fossils of at least 40 different species of shark and close relatives
have been discovered in remote cave locations within the park since survey
efforts started 10 months ago. The six previously undiscovered species
include large predators and small bottom-feeders.

The fossils could be more than 325 million years old, which is when the
limestones of the Mammoth Cave System were formed, during the Mississippian
Period of the Late Paleozoic Era.

"I am absolutely amazed at the diversity of sharks we see while exploring
the passages that make up Mammoth Cave," said John-Paul Hodnett, a
paleontologist from the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning
Commission, who was recruited especially for the project.

https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-sharks-discovered-kentucky-mammoth-cave-1539393
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