FOSSIL HOUND REWRITES HISTORY OF SHARK EVOLUTION – WITH TEETH!

THE oldest evidence of shark-like fishes includes a few tiny scales fossilised more than 420 million years ago near Alice Springs in central Australia.
Identical to scales in living sharks, they are older than trees, insects and the rings of Saturn. Sharks have fought for survival for nearly 500 million years and today are threatened by overfishing, pollution and public paranoia.
Yet they promise life-changing benefits in science and medicine. For example, nurse sharks produce antibodies against coronavirus. Understanding how could lead to new drugs to treat viruses and cancers. Whale sharks have a pigment in their eye that at certain temperatures triggers ‘night vision’ to hunt food in the dark at great depths, offering hope to treating night blindness. Shark skin designs also have been used in swim suits to cut drag. The technology was tested by German evolutionary biologist Wolf-Ernest Reif and physicist Dietrich Bechert who by studying hydrodynamic properties of shark’s skin developed a ‘foil’ for ships and planes that could reduce resistance by up to 10 per cent. In 2022, German airline Lufthansa announced that all Boeing 777 cargo planes were fitted with AeroSHARK, a special film that boosted fuel efficiency and cut CO2. Wolf-Ernest died in 2009.
“It’s incredible to think that because of his pioneering early work on fossil shark scales more than 40 years ago, the Lufthansa cargo fleet will now use around 4000 tons less fuel and prevent 11,700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year,” Dr Long said. “Just think of the massive environmental savings that would be achieved if all the world’s airlines adopted the use of AeroSHARK technology.”
Dr Long said new discoveries continue to enrich the fossil record. Entire skeletons of sharks previously known only from a few teeth. Fossilised skin complete with colour banding and black-tipped fins. Dr Long said now was the best time to study shark fossils, with most breakthroughs in shark evolution described in his book having taken place within the past decade.
The Secret History of Sharks is divided into five sections, two chapters devoted to living sharks: The First Sharks, Sharks Rule, Sharks Under Pressure, The Age of the Megasharks, and Sharks Today. The fifth chapter focuses on the plight of living sharks in the face of overfishing and pollution. Sharks are the second most threatened species on the planet behind frogs. Dr Long’s new book is available online.