Shark Discovery: 5 Prehistoric Sharks
Dinosaur ZooCarcharodon megalodon size comparison with man
With lengths of up to 59 feet and teeth more than 7 inches long, this school-bus-size shark makes a great white look like a Smart car.
Dmitry BogdanovStethacanthus productus
This small shark is best known for its anvil-shaped dorsal fin and crest.
Dmitry BogdanovHelicoprion bessonovi - edestid "shark"
This shark's teeth were arranged in "tooth whorl," similar to a modern-day circular saw.
Dmitry BogdanovEdestus protopirata - edestid "shark"
Also known as the "scissor-toothed shark," Edestus had a curved row of teeth that looked like monstrous pinking shears.
Dmitry BogdanovTriodus sesselensis - relative of the xenacanthus
A small, freshwater shark that resembled a modern-day conger eel, it went extinct 202 million years ago.
Based on ancient fossil records, we know that sharks have been around for hundreds of millions of years. Here are some interesting distant relatives of our modern-day sharks, including the ancient and extinct Megalodon - one of the biggest and strongest predators to ever swim the oceans.
Illustrations by Dmitry Bogdanov and Dinosaur Zoo.
