Contact: Kelly Carnes
carnesk@si.edu
Smithsonian

Whale Bone Fossil

Caption: Whale bone fossil showing three tooth marks from a shark. The marks on the rib indicate the whale was once severely bitten by a strong-jawed animal. Judging by the 6 centimeter (2.4 inch) spacing between tooth marks, scientists believe the attacker was a mega toothed shark Carcharocles megalodon, or perhaps another species of large shark which was alive at that time. The whale appears to have been an ancestor of a great blue or humpback.

Credit: Photo by Stephen Godfrey

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Related news release: Details of ancient shark attack preserved in fossil whale bone