SHARK, SKATE & RAY FOSSILS
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Sharks are one of the oldest creatures still living on this earth. They are members of the group called Elasmobranchs (Sharks, Skates and Rays). Fossilized scales date sharks as far back as 420 million years ago to the Silurian Period. From the Devonian Period, 400 million years ago onward, the fossil record is more complete and varied with the first fossils of shark teeth occurring during the Devonian.
During the Carboniferous Period, a staggering 45 FAMILIES of sharks existed! This is considered to the be the "Golden Age" of sharks, where a huge variety of species emerged including many more bizarre types than ever in earth's history. A mass extinction during the Permian Period about 250 million years ago brought this wondrous era to an end killing off 99% of all marine species! The types that survived later gave rise to the modern sharks of today.
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Sawfish resemble slender-bodied flattened sharks but with a long, tooth-lined, chainsaw-like nose jutting out from their heads. Guitarfish resemble the same but without the bizarre snout of the sawfish.
Sharks are perfect yet, mysterious predators. To have survived for so long is a testament to the ideal nature of their design. In the advent of all the modern advances in science, very little is still understood about sharks.
Common misspellings: Otodus obliguous, Rey, Megladon, Megoladon, Megalodan, Charcarodon, Charcarocles. Special thanks is due Chris and Monique Fallows of Apex for the use of their amazing Great White Shark photos above. A big thanks also goes out to the talented paleo artist Todd Marshall for his generosity and permission to use his fantastic work featured here, as well. Please visit their sites to see more and purchase their masterpieces.
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Nearly
3000 shark species have been described over time with about 465 species
still in existence today. Compare that to the dinosaurs.
Sharks were around 200 million years BEFORE the dinosaurs and there are
only about 650 - 800 dinosaur species identified with none still alive
today.
During
the Carboniferous Period, 360 - 286 million years ago, a large number of
bizarre sharks appeared. Many had strange protrusions on their
heads. These types of sharks are called Stethacanthids. One
shark in particular called Stethacanthus, looked like a normal shark with
the exception of having what looked like a bristle brush sticking out of
its back. It is still a mystery to scientists as to why these
fascinating creatures had this headgear. 
From
the mid-Miocene Period 16 million years ago to the Plio-Pleistocene Period
1.6 million years ago, the most notorious and fearsome of all sharks
existed - C. megalodon. Believed to have exceeded 60 feet in length and
weighing over 52 tons, this huge monster is the largest predatory
marine creature that ever lived, second only to the Sperm Whale.
Fossil teeth have been found that exceed 7 inches in length! Much
has yet to be discovered about this giant killer including the reason for
its extinction. 
During
the early Jurassic Period, 190 million years ago, a variation of sharks
appeared called Batoids. Batoids are basically flattened sharks and
comprise all skates, rays, guitarfish and sawfish. 
The
ability to differentiate between skates and rays can appear to be
difficult but is rather easy based on some obvious physical
characteristics. On skates, each pelvic fin (small fin behind the
main wings) is divided into two lobes compared to the single lobe of a
ray. Also, rays have a stinging barb attached to their slender to
whip-like tail yet, skates have a short, more stout tail with no stinging
barb. 
