Venice Beach is often referred to as the shark teeth capital of the world, but there had never been formal, peer reviewed documentation until a Florida Gulf Coast University professor published a paper breaking down what he and his students found beneath the waters there.
The Venice shark and ray assemblage contains 45 species identified from their fossil teeth, all collected by Dr. Harry Maisch, Assistant Professor of Earth Science in the Department of Marine & Earth Sciences in The Water School at FGCU.
This study represents the largest fossil shark and ray assemblage collected by SCUBA diving known globally. It's the most diverse fossil shark and ray assemblage ever reported from the state of Florida, and is considered one of the most diverse fossil assemblages of sharks and rays reported from the USA.
Of the 45 species documented, about half are known only from small teeth that are frequently overlooked.
- 8 of these 45 species are globally extinct (including the megatoothed shark: Otodus megalodon)
- 3 species are regionally extinct in “the Gulf”
- These species help to better understand ancient ecosystems and food webs
- 37 of the 45 species identified in the Venice Elasmobranch Assemblage are still living in the oceans today attesting to the survivorship abilities of sharks and rays over geologic time
The fossil shark and ray teeth in Venice are between about 15 and 4 million years old.
We talk with Dr. Maisch about this research, and the work he does with the help of his students sifting through tiny fossils to uncover this area's deep geologic past and the marine animals that called it home. Click here to learn about FGCU's Paleontology club, which he leads.
Guest:
Dr. Harry Maisch, Assistant Professor of Earth Science in the Department of Marine & Earth Sciences in The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University
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