Description

Edestus Coal Mine Shark Tooth

Species: Edestus heinrichi a.k.a “The Coal Mine Shark”

Age: Pennsylvanian Age, 313 Million Years Old

Location: Coulterville, Illinois, USA

Known mostly from curved sections of teeth known as whorls, Edestus was a unique species even by the incredibly odd standards of its age, especially compared to other sharks. Unlike most species, which have rows of teeth surrounding the edges of their mouths, Edestus had two whorls situated in the middle ridgeline of their mouths. Picture the position of your tongue and the roof of your mouth; that would be where the teeth would sit. About the size of a modern Great White, these sharks could reach lengths of over 22 ft.

There are currently two main schools of thought over how these unique teeth were used. The first is that Edestus would ram their prey and then use their jaws as scissors to tear and cut away at their meal. The second is that they were specially adapted for hunting jellyfish, something which would also explain the lack of wear marks on the fossilized remains of these animals.

Found almost exclusively in Coal Mines, Edestus has often been referred to as “the coal mine shark”. This explains the dark black coloration of the tooth and the surrounding whorl to which some of our specimens are attached.

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