Discover the nest of 2 extinct shark species

Researchers discovered dozens of small shark teeth next to the egg nest, indicating that the shark had existed 230 million years ago. This finding was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Fischer researcher at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg Geological Institute, and his colleagues found evidence of sharks at the Madygen Formation in southwestern Kyrgyzstan.

The area is also known as a place where paleontologists discovered insects and plants from the end of the Triassic period, a time when the first dinosaurs walked on Earth.

Egg nest 2 species of extinct sharks found near the coast (Photo: holykaw.alltop)

"The findings show a direct correlation between eggs and young sharks and indicate the area as a shark nursery," Jan Fischer explained to Discovery News .

Unearthed eggs and teeth represent two different types of sharks, hybodontids and xenacanthids.

" Hybodontid sharks are the extinct sister group of modern sharks, ostensibly like modern sharks about body shape except the small horn on the head of the male , " Fischer said. Hybodontids sharks live during the Triassic and Jurassic period.

' Xenacanthids died about 210 million years ago. They have an eel-like body shape and have a spine at the head protruding backwards , 'Fischer said.

In particular, the eggs of these two shark species are nursed in a freshwater spring environment near the coast with rich vegetation, rich in nutrients.

This phenomenon is different from modern sharks. This difference demonstrates significant changes in shark evolution, Gilles Cuny of the Danish Museum of Natural History said.

John Long, vice president of research and collections at Los Angeles County's Museum of Natural History, said sharks have developed hard-shelled eggs to protect unborn babies.

Andrew Heckert of the Geological Survey at Appalachian State University said the discovery of small shark teeth could suggest finding other shark eggs in North Carolina and the western United States.