Paleontologists Uncover Prehistoric Shark that Once Lived in England

Millions of years ago, England was once covered with sharks and a tropical rainforest teeming with life. Now, scientists have investigated Yorkshire's 310-million-year-old past and have found that it also once hosted a prehistoric shark.

The findings come after the researchers uncovered a fossilized shark egg case in addition to fossilized plants and other creatures, including horseshoe crabs and previously unrecorded seed pods. The fossils were preserved in rocks that formed within coal and shale deposits. Yet it's the shark egg case that has the researchers particularly intrigued.

"The shark egg case is particularly rare and significant, because it's soft bodied and an unusual object to find fossilized," said Dean Lomax, a paleontologist and one of the researchers, in a news release. "We hope that future organized collecting of the site may reveal further rare discoveries, such as dragonflies, beetles, spiders and further evidence of vertebrates. And who knows, maybe we will even find the actual shark."

The findings don't only show researchers a new creature, though; they also confirm that the region was likely an area that was similar to today's modern Amazon delta. It was likely a mix of dense forest, lakes, swamps and lagoons.

"For all three of us this site and the fossils we've discovered here are very close to our hearts," said Peter Robinson, one of the researchers. "We are all locally born and bred and take great pride in uncovering, interpreting and preserving a very important piece of the borough's geological past."

The findings reveal a bit more about the geological history of this area. In addition, it shows that a prehistoric shark once roamed England in its ancient past.

The findings are published in the Geological Journal.