New Mexico s 300-million-year-old Godzilla shark gets its official name
In this undated photo provided by John-Paul Hodnett are a row of teeth on the lower jaw of a 300-million-year-old shark species named this week following a nearly complete skeleton of the species in 2013 in New Mexico.
Photo by PTI
The 300-million-year-old shark s teeth were the first sign that it might be a distinct species.
The ancient chompers looked less like the spear-like rows of teeth of related species. They were squatter and shorter, less than an inch long, around 2 centimeters. Great for grasping and crushing prey rather than piercing prey, said discoverer John-Paul Hodnett, who was a graduate student when he unearthed the first fossils of the shark at a dig east of Albuquerque in 2013.
300-Million-Year-Old Godzilla Shark Discovered in New Mexico Gets a New Name
Fossils of the 6.7-foot-long monster were unearthed accidentally in 2013 when a team of researchers was studying rocks at the spot. By Edited by Gadgets 360 Newsdesk | Updated: 19 April 2021 15:03 IST
Photo Credit: New Mexico Culture
Godzilla Shark is now known as Hoffman’s Dragon Shark
Highlights
Hodnett and his team found out that it was a new kind of shark
They named it ‘Dracopristis Hoffmanorum
Godzilla Shark, a monster shark whose fossilised skeleton was discovered in New Mexico in 2013, has been named ‘Dracopristis Hoffmanorum , or ‘Hoffman s Dragon Shark , by researchers. The fossils of the 6.7-foot-long shark that lived 300 million years ago were unearthed during a dig at the Manzano Mountains, about 50km from Albuquerque in New Mexico, by a graduate student, John-Paul Hodnett. Initially, due to its features, the monster was nicknamed ‘Godzilla Sha
‘Godzilla’ shark discovered in New Mexico gets formal name
By CEDAR ATTANASIOApril 16, 2021 GMT
RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT TO SINGLE TOOTH NOT A ROW OF TEETH - In this undated photo provided by John-Paul Hodnett is a single tooth on the lower jaw of a 300-million-year-old shark species named this week following a nearly complete skeleton of the species in 2013 in New Mexico. Discoverer Hodnett says it was the short, squat teeth that first alerted him to the possibility that the specimen initially dubbed Godzilla Shark could be a species distinct from it s ancient cousins, which have longer, more spear-like teeth. The image was taken using angled light techniques that reveal fossil features underneath sediment. (John-Paul Hodnett via AP)
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The monster shark was named Dracopristis hoffmanorum and nicknamed Hoffman’s Dragon Shark in honor of the New Mexico family that owns the area of the Manzano Mountains where many fossils were recovered.