Strange
Rick Smith
MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. —
Two new species of shark have been discovered at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
The new species, Troglocladodus trimblei and Glikmanius careforum, were discovered through the ongoing Paleontological Resources Inventory at Mammoth Cave National Park. Both were identified by fossils collected from Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and northern Alabama.
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“Every new discovery at Mammoth Cave is possible due to collaborations,” Superintendent Barclay Trimble said in a statement. “Our park team is honored to work alongside the National Park Service Paleontology Program and now the University of Alabama Geological Sciences Department whose coordinated efforts have made this latest announcement possible.”
The first species, Troglocladodus trimblei, was identified through adult and juvenile teeth found within the St. Louis and St. Genevieve Formations of Mammoth Cave and the Bangor Formation in Alabama.
The name translates to “Cave Cladodus” or “Cave Branching Tooth” and was named in honor of park superintendent Barclay Trimble, who found the very first specimen, a single tooth, on an early PRI trip in 2019. According to park officials, the species is estimated to have reached about 10-12 feet in length or about the size of an oceanic white tip shark.
The second shark, Glikmanius careforum, is a new species of Glikmanius that dates back over 50 million years earlier than originally thought.
NPS Photo
NPS Photo
The species was also identified primarily from teeth, this time in the St. Louis, St. Genevieve, and Haney Formations at Mammoth Cave and the Hartselle and Bangor Formations of Alabama. Scientists also discovered a partial set of jaws and gills of a young Glikmanius at Mammoth Cave.
According to the park, the set of cartilage fossil was the first of its kind for this genus of ctenacanthus shark. The species was named in honor of the Cave Research Foundation, which helped support research at Mammoth Cave and discovered the Glikmanius jaws.
The species is estimated to have reached 10-12 feet in length or about the size of a Lemon Shark. According to the park, its jaw shape suggests it had a short head with a powerful bite for hunting smaller sharks, bony fish, and squid-like orthocones.
The shark species were said to have hunted the ancient near-shore habitats that covered Kentucky and Alabama over 325 million years ago.
The park stated the area was once an ancient seaway that connected what is now eastern North America, Europe, and northern Africa but would later disappear as the supercontinent Pangea formed.
Since the Paleontological Resources Inventory started in 2019, and under ancient shark specialist John-Paul (JP) Hodnett of the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, at least 70 species of ancient fish have been identified at Mammoth Cave from over 25 caves and cave passages that have been surveyed.
Rick Smith
5264 N. Fort Yuma Trail
Tucson, AZ 85750
Email: rsmit...@comcast.net