Delicate Fossil Cow Shark Tooth

Description: This is a fines specimen of a Cow Shark tooth from the Khourigba Plateau of Morocco. Many fossils from the region are an outgrowth of the phosphate mining industry. One of the suppliers of this material described for me the mad scramble that ensues when a section of wall is dynamited. The locals move in swiftly, collecting the fossils exposed before the earth moving equipment arrives. Pieces such as this are the result of those efforts. Only a few are preserved as well as this one. The Hexanchoids derive their name from a term meaning 6 arches, actually referring to the gills. They may have 6 or 7 gills, and are poorly known because of their deepwater habits. The modern-day examples are of stout build, with underslung jaws possessing unusual thorn-like upper teeth, and lower ones reminiscent of a coxscomb.