London. The giant shark belongs to the rare Cretodus genus and measured more than 7.5 meters in length studied by a team of palaeontologists from the University of Padova and Ferrara, the CNR of Padova and the Superintendence of Friuli Venezia Giulia, thanks to the collaboration of the Superintendence of Verona and Padua, the Natural History Museum of Verona and the Museum of Sant’Anna di Alfaedo (VR). The only fossils ever found from this kind of shark which has been extinct for 80 million years, were its teeth – already found in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. Thanks to a published study, we now know about its overall dental structure (over 120 teeth), and its entire structure through the calcified cartilage fragments and much of the spine and external appearance due to small denticles that covered its skin. But the uniqueness of the discovery lies in the fact that the fossil of this giant shark there are preserved remains of her last meal in the area where the stomach would be: a huge sub-circular bolus consisting of the bones of a large sea turtle. (9Colonne)
