Peruvian paleontologists present fossil of the “grandfather” of the white shark

A group of Peruvian paleontologists This Monday he presented the “grandfather of the white shark,” a nine-million-year-old fossil.

“We are showing a very important find, which is the complete fossilized shark Cosmopolitodus hastalis,” paleontologist César Chacaltana told AFP at the end of the exhibition in Lima.

The expert from the (state) Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute pointed out that the fossil corresponds to a young specimen “which would be the grandfather of the current white shark.”

“It is approximately nine million years old,” he said.

The shark moved in the waters of what is now the Ocucaje desert, in the Ica region.

The fossil, measuring one and a half meters long, was found in good condition in 2013 in that area located about 350 km south of Lima.

“The shark has a fully developed skull with scattered teeth (…) and a spinal column,” he highlighted.

Adult individuals of this type of shark could reach up to nine meters.

The discovery was made jointly by the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute and the Natural History Museum of the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos.

“These fossils are hidden treasures in the deserts. “Peru has territories that are exceptionally fossilized,” said Chacaltana.

Cosmopolitodus hastalis lived in Peru between the Oligocene era and the early Pleistocene.

For researchers, the Ocucaje desert is a kind of archaeological treasure. There they have found fossils of four-legged dwarf whales, dolphins, sharks and other species between 5 and 23 million years old.