Egypt's deserts were once home to a diverse shark community

During the Late Cretaceous period, parts of Egypt were submerged beneath a tropical sea, creating an environment that supported a diverse community of sharks. A new study published in Cretaceous Research has uncovered evidence of this prehistoric shark graveyard, revealing five previously unknown species that once thrived in what is now Egypt's Western Desert.

The study, led by researchers Tarek Yassin et al., analyzed 14 fossilized shark teeth discovered in the Abu-Tartur mine area of the Abu-Tartur Plateau. These phosphate beds, formed from ancient marine conditions, contain a wealth of fossils from the Duwi Formation, which stretch across Egypt and indicate a rich marine ecosystem.

Among the newly identified species are two previously unknown lamniform sharks, Serratolamna serrata and Squalicorax bassanii. Another species, Scapanorhynchus raphiodon, is the youngest known appearance of this ancient relative of today's goblin shark in the fossil record, although confirmation of its age requires further investigation.

The varied shark community suggests a nutrient-rich and productive marine ecosystem, supporting a food web from small fish to large predators. However, the phosphate bed likely contains mixed remains from different habitats accumulated over time, rather than capturing a single short period in the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that this time-averaged fossil assemblage highlights a nutrient-enriched, high-productivity marine setting that developed during a transgressive system's tract in the Late Cretaceous.